Real Life Trip to an Unreal Place: The Bats in My Belfry
by DarkShadowrule
Summary: In continuation of Real Life Trip to an Unreal Place: After escaping Danny's dimension, he and Kira are launched into the world of Batman, but with a twist. Almost all of Danny's enemies have fled to the new dimension too. How will our heroes deal with this new reality? The answer: not well.
1. Chapter 1

**Whew, talk about jumping right back into the action. If you haven't read my first story in this series, you should probably do so or this will make absolutely no sense. For more details on this story, it is based in the _The Batman _(2004) universe, but with a few twists. It's obviously in the fifth season or later, based on the characters, but there will also be some new elements. I may add some characters (Like Scarecrow, because I honestly think he was severely needed in the series) and some elements from other Batman incarnates like _Justice League _or _The Animated Series_. Anyway, enjoy!**

"How do you know Batman lives here?" Batgirl questioned as she and Robin posed, looking ready to try to fight us.

"Same reason I know who you are Miss Gordon, now do you really think you can fight two ghosts with intangibility, or can we talk to Batman?" I questioned.

"How do you-" she attempted, her eyes widening.

"There's no time to be stupid. We're the only possible way to stop this invasion!" Danny shouted with urgency.

"Why should we believe you? You guys are the same as the freaks trying to attack us," Robin said.

"And we have to deal with this again?" Danny said with annoyance.

"It doesn't matter Danny. You guys really think we're like them?" I questioned.

"Well duh," Robin said like an idiot.

I huffed a noise of annoyance and crossed my arms, letting rings of fire spread out from my waist.

"What are you doing?" Danny questioned.

"They need to trust us, just like we're their only chance, they're ours," I said as the rings spread over my body, transforming me back into an oddly thinner version of Kira Blake.

"You look ridiculous," Danny said.

"Looked in the mirror lately? Now change back Phantom," I ordered.

He grumbled his annoyance, but did let the white rings take over his body.

"How did you creeps do that?" Robin questioned, twirling his staff.

"We're humans nimrod, and heroes. Obviously you need our help, and we've got the weapons to help you. Now call Brucey in here so we can do our jobs," I said with annoyance.

"And what are you kids doing down here?" the annoyed voice of a man asked, startling me.

My arm shot out, releasing my wrist ray out of the cuff on my arm before I turned it around and aimed it at him. When I saw the cape and cowl, I lowered it. "Shouldn't sneak up on a ghost hunter like that," I said, taking a deep breath to suppress my nerves.

"Ghost hunter? But you are a ghost!" Batgirl argued.

"Quiet," Batman ordered her. "Let them say what they have to say."

"We know you're in a bit of a crisis, but there's only one way to stop it," I said, dropping to my knee to open one of our bags of weapons. "These are wrist rays," I said, tossing the biggest bat one. "They run off of ecto-energy, the only thing that can hit a ghost."

"We don't use guns," he said with a bit of annoyance.

"Don't worry, it won't kill them, and it doesn't do any major harm to humans. If you need to, you can try it on me later. These are Fenton thermoses," I said, pulling out one to show him. "Press this button on the side, and it'll suck up whatever ghost it's aimed at. For the love of God, just don't point it me, Danny's fair game because that's just funny."

"Hey!" he cried indignantly.

"Grab out the Specter Deflectors D," I ordered, straightening up and taking the moment to change back to Shadowrule. He quickly took the moment to grab the two belts and handed them to me. "These stop the wearer from being overshadowed or hypnotized by a ghost," I said, handing Batman the belts.

"And what would happen if one of you were to wear one of these?" the intelligent adult asked.

"Excruciating pain, and then a black out. Not the fondest of it, so don't do it," Danny said, narrowing his eyes.

"Alpha male complex much?" I questioned, giving Danny a dirty look. "You may not have had Batman comics in your dimension, but you still have to trust him. He's our only chance."

"Comics?" Batman asked with a bit of confusion.

"Oh, right. In my dimension, you're a comic book slash cartoon character slash pop culture idol. Danny here was a cartoon character. In his dimension, his life is real and he's never heard of either of our realities."

"Cool, so we're on TV?" Robin asked before shouting "Ow!" as Batgirl hit him.

"So you both know who all of us are?" Batgirl asked.

"I don't, she does," Danny said, transforming back to Phantom.

"Prove it," Robin said, crossing his arms.

"Bruce Wayne, billionaire playboy," I said, pointing at Batman. "Dick Grayson, orphaned son of two acrobats," I said, pointing at Robin. "Barbara Gordon, gymnastic daughter of Commissioner Gordon," I finished, pointing at Batgirl.

"You know so much about us, so who are you?" Batman questioned.

"Kira Blake, ghost super hero Shadowrule and dimensional traveler," I said, offering out my hand for Batman to shake. He quickly shook it, and then looked to Danny for answered. He seemed stiff as a board about his identity, so I took the liberty of being the only smart person in the room. "He's Danny Fenton, ghost super hero Danny Phantom, junior astronaut and full time clueless teenage boy."

"Why do you guys always call me clueless?" he questioned with annoyance.

"You'll figure it out when you're older," I said with a grin. "Now if you don't mind Batman, we've only got twenty wrist rays and five thermoses to get dispersed to the other heroes. I would suggest you give the belts to the two people you think will be at the forefront of the battle, but I'm not sure how it affects regular super powers."

"You two," he said, motioning to Batgirl and Robin, "you're taking these."

"How do we know these won't zap us into dust?" Robin questioned, catching the belt.

"Don't be stupid. Why would we want to hurt kids?" I questioned.

"Because you're ghosts," Batgirl said, crossing her arms.

"Drop the stigmas, I'm just a regular kid that happened to have her molecules infused with ectoplasm," I said, putting my fists on my hips. "Hey, I wonder if Ember's here. That'd be-"

"Kira," Danny said, giving me a dirty look.

"Totally bad, and I would never want that to happen," I corrected. "Now let's get moving. Do you have any contact with the Flash?"

Batman just gave me a look that screamed duh, and then activated a communication device in the ear of his cowl. "Flash, to the Batcave."

There was a rush of wind and the speedster appeared. "Sup Bats?" he asked in a hurry.

"We have so got to race later," I said with a smile.

"Bats, there's a ghost!" Flash shouted, pointing at me.

"Wait to state the obvious Einstein, but we're on your side," I said, grabbing two of the bags of weapons. "Take these to the other heroes. They're the only things that can hit a ghost. The thermoses will catch them if you just aim it at one."

"Bats, who are these kids?" Flash questioned the smarter hero.

"Half ghosts, I think. But more than that, they're Earth's last hope, now do what they say," Batman ordered.

Giving one last odd look at Danny and me, the scarlet speedster rushed out. "Spread these amongst yourselves," I said, handing Batman the last bag after taking out a thermos for Danny and me. "We've got to go see if we can find a specific wolf ghost."

"What are the other two bags?" Batman asked, looking at the floor.

"Our only earthly possessions," I said nonchalantly. "Is there any way you can check the 911 calls for reports of a giant wolf shouting in Esperanto?"

"We can try," Robin said, sliding up a pole and moving over to the bat computer. Danny looked at me and I shrugged, floating up after him. "Here, giant wolf creature shouting in unknown language on 24th."

"You mind showing me and Phantom the way? I don't know Gotham's streets," I said, floating just above him.

"Sure," he said, jumping out of his seat. "I'll take my motor cycle."

"No time for that," I said, grabbing his arms and flying up through the ceiling.

"Woah!" he shouted.

"Quit being such a girl, which way?" I asked.

"That way," he said, pulling one of his arms free and pointing to the right.

While I was scanning the area for Wulf, I took notice of another scene. Green Arrow was trying to fight off a horde of ghosts, but it was obvious that he wasn't a good enough shot with the wrist ray to take on the sheer numbers. "Robin, I'm gonna have to leave you on a roof. Arrow needs some help and fast," I said, landing on a rooftop just overhead.

"Okay, hurry then," he said with a nod.

"Danny, stay here and watch Robin," I said to the ghost boy as he approached from behind. With his nod, I jumped off the building and landed gently next to Arrow.

"Stay back ghost creep," he ordered, aiming the wrist ray at me.

"No time Mr. Queen," I said as I let my bow materialize in my hand along with the quiver on my back. "Take these, they can hit the ghosts. Just make sure you get them back to me when this is over. They're made out of my energy. That dial on the side affects the kind of arrow fired. I'll probably be with Batman."

"Wait, what?" he questioned as I floated into the air.

"No time, just shoot!" I ordered before making it to the top of the building and grabbing Robin.

"What was that all about?" Robin asked.

"That archer couldn't hit anything with a laser weapon. I gave him my bow. It works off my energy so it can hit the ghosts."

"You're an archer?" Robin questioned.

"Not a very good one, but it focuses my energy so I don't burn any major cities to the ground."

"There! Is that the wolf you're looking for?" Robin asked, pointing down towards the ground. He was being attacked by Walker and his guards.

"Yeah. Danny, take the bird boy. I'll go talk to Wulf," I said, passing the boy to Danny.

"Be careful," he ordered as I descended to the ground again.

"Back away from the ghost puppy Walker," I ordered, floating just above Wulf.

"_Ĉu vi ĉi tie por helpi_?" Wulf asked. "Are you here to help?"

"_Kompreneble Wulf, amikoj_," I answered. "Of course Wulf, friends."

"_Amikoj,_" he said with a sharp toothed smile.

"Hate to break up the reunion of a girl and her dog, but I'm not letting Wulf stand in my way," Walker said in his usual deep, authoritative voice.

"Good thing I'll be the one standing in your way," I said.

"And me," a duplicate said as it split out of my side.

"And me," another said.

Soon enough, I had ten duplicates copying each other exactly fire down on Walker and his men, while I grabbed Wulf and floated him up to a building Phantom and Robin were waiting on.

"Ah!" Robin shouted, hiding behind Danny, who just rolled his eyes.

"It's alright Robin, he's a friend," I said. "_Amikoj._"

"_Kial vi helpis min?"_ Wulf asked. "Why have you saved me?"

_"Ĉar_ _nun ni bezonas vin por savi nin. Ĉu vi povas malfermi portaloj ĉi tie?_" I replied. "Because now we need you to save us. Can you open portals here?"

"_Mi provos,_" he said. "I will try." With that, he slashed his claws through the air and there was a massive flash of light, so bright that we all had to turn our eyes. Then it started linking green, and then it was like a giant explosion had gone off, then the portal opened.

"I think he just made a Ghost Zone," Danny stated, being the first to open his eyes.

"That… is totally awesome," I added.

"What's a ghost zone?" Robin questioned.

"If the ghosts go in there, the only way for them to get out is if a portal opens. Basically, Wulf just made a new world," I explained.

"Woah."

Just then, I felt a wave of energy return to me. "Danny, my duplicates are down. Get Wulf back to the Batcave and I'll catch Walker," I ordered.

"Since when did you become the boss?" he questioned.

"Since Wulf needs our help and one of us should be being productive. Now hurry up, if Walker gets his hands on Wulf, there's no way we'll be able to detain the ghosts."

With those words, he finally listened and grabbed our furry companion to go hide him. It was going to be a long night.


	2. Chapter 2

**Just saying, Kira's having a bad day, but it makes my day when you have the chance to sing a character's theme song at them. Enjoy!**

"Hey, behind you!" Robin shouted, pointing back behind where I was standing.

A duplicate quickly split out of my back and shot an ectoblast right in the face of one of Walker's guards. "Robin, take the thermos, I'll blast 'em," I ordered, tossing him the Fenton Thermos.

"How is a stupid thermos supposed to stop anything?" he questioned angrily.

"I'm the foster child of two ghost hunters, I know what I'm doing, just don't hit me," I ordered, shooting a fireball into a mass of skeleton ghosts. I saw the flash of light suck in four ghosts coming at my side.

"Whoa."

"No time for amazement bird brain," I said before letting out a ghostly wail into another huge group. "Shoot my way," I ordered before jumping out of the way for him to catch the mass of ghosts I'd just knocked down.

"What was that?" he questioned.

"Ghostly wail. Hold them off for a second, I have to do something," I said, ducking into a corner and bringing up a ghost shield. Focusing my energy just like Ember taught me, I made one long line of ectoplasm that slowly hardened into a staff. "Take this," I said, standing up and breaking the shield while tossing Robin the staff. "Hand me the thermos and I'll try a mass catch from above."

"Got it," he said, passing back the thermos. I nodded and floated up above as he went crazy beating the crap out of ghosts with the ecto-staff.

I altered the settings to widen the beam and pointed it towards the ground. As the beam was charging, someone grabbed me from behind, making me drop the thermos causing it to miss almost all of its targets. "Hey, get off me!" I shouted, turning intangible. The only problem was that I was shocked to the point where my intangibility wouldn't work. I screamed, but was quickly silenced by a hand on my mouth.

"You won't beat me this time ghost child," the familiar voice called behind me.

"I've got you Shadowrule!" Robin shouted, grappling up on the nearest building and jumping down to wrap his staff around Skulker's neck.

"You think you can stop me whelp?" he questioned Robin, turning both himself and me intangible, causing Robin to fall to the ground. "Ember's not here to stop me now," he said, sending an intense shock through my body until the point where rings formed around my waist. That was when it stopped and he threw a nearly unconscious me to the ground.

I had to focus all of my energy on stopping the rings from transforming me. "This should be easier than I expected," Skulker said, stomping a boot down on my back. "You'll be the first pelt on my new wall."

"Dude, ew," I choked. Doing the only possible thing I could think of, I let my right hand change back just enough to expose the cuff Jack and Maddie gave me. I stretched my arm out as best as I could, which happened to be just enough to release the wrist ray. Then, awkwardly twisting my wrist back to aim it at him, I fired the ray, knocking him off of me.

"I will get you Shadowrule!" he shouted as Robin rolled to grab the thermos and shot it at him, quickly sucking him into it.

My hand smacked the concrete and I forced it back to my ghost form. "You alright?" Robin asked, pulling my arm up over his shoulder.

"It's hard to stop myself from turning human," I said weakly.

"Come on, let's get back to the cave," he said, pulling out his grappling hook and aiming it at the tallest building.

"Looks like Skulker finally figured out he can't beat my powers," I said, forcing a laugh. "'Bout time he figured out a frontal assault wasn't always the best."

The sudden wind in my hair was interesting enough. The ground being so far below me when I couldn't fly was not. Needless to say, I was not very happy.

"What, scared of heights?" Robin joked, staring at my clenched fist as he swung around the corner of a building and landed on another one.

"Ghosts don't get scared of heights," I said, looking over the side of the building.

"To bad we both know you're not all ghost," he said with a mischievous grin, leaping off the side of the building and pulling me with him, resulting in a girlish scream escaping my lips. "No scared of heights huh?"

"Screw you," I retorted in a shaking voice. If it was Danny, or better yet, anyone with the ability to fly, I wouldn't have worried. But a human with the chance of dropping me? That wasn't so good.

"Down there, that's one of the entrances," he said, spotting an orange dumpster. With one quick swoop, we were on the ground, and the dumpster opened up like a garage door. "We're coming in the third entryway, Shadowrule's sustained massive damage." He must have been calling the Batcave.

After about a minute and a half of walking down the tunnel, Danny met us from the other side. "What happened?" he immediately questioned.

"Some giant robo-ghost thing," Robin said.

"Technus?"

"Skulker," I said tiredly. My energy was draining by the minute. The ride on the grappling hook had made my adrenaline go crazy, but even that wasn't enough to power me up. I finally just let the rings form around my waist and take me away. My body started phasing in and out, and my arm soon passed through Robin's shoulders and chest, making me fall to my hands and knees.

Danny came over to pick me up, but his hand just passed right through me. "Hand me your Specter Deflector," Danny ordered.

"I thought you said it'd hurt a ghost if they wore it," Robin said, not budging.

"It does, but it might be enough to cancel her ghost powers so I can carry her," Danny said, kneeling down beside me.

"Fine, not my colours anyway," he said, unclipping the belt.

"Sorry they don't match a Christmas tree," I muttered weakly as my finger tips started phasing through the floor.

Danny clipped the belt to my waist and a shock spread throughout my entire body. I pulled my hand out of the floor just before I went solid and flipped to my back to ride out the pain before my powers shorted out.

"What just happened?" Robin questioned when the pain stopped and I was catching my breath.

"Shorted out my powers. Just as human as you," I said between gasps.

"And it hurts that much? Super powers suck."

"Thanks a lot Dickie Bird," I muttered as Danny picked me up. "Take me over yonder hills Danny-boy!"

"Are you delirious?" Danny questioned.

"I don't know. Let's go Sir Daniel!" I slurred.

"Yeah, she's about to pass out," Robin said, narrowing his eyes.

"Come on," Danny said, floating off the ground. "Maybe she's coherent enough to talk to Wulf."

"-He was just 14 when his parents built a very strange machine designed to view a world unseen-" I muttered in my delirium.

"What the heck is she singing?" Robin asked as he ran to keep up with Danny.

"-his folks, they just quit. Then Danny took a look inside of it. There was a great big flash-"

"I think she's singing my theme song," Danny said, awkwardly blinking his eyes. "Maybe she shouldn't talk to Wulf."

"-he had realized he had snow white hair, and glowin' green eyes-"

"How can she remember all that and still make no sense?" Robin asked.

I just laughed, and switched to singing, "Jingle bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg. The Batmobile-"

"Now that's just weird," Danny said, getting the agreement of Robin.

"_Saluton amiko_," Wulf greeted.

"_Saluton amiko,_" I answered. "_Kiu kaŝis la banano en la ŝtrumpeto tirkesto?_" Otherwise translated to: "Who hid the banana in the sock drawer?" It made sense at the time.

"_Kio?_"

"Shh, shh my fluffy comrade. I love you," I slurred, blowing Wulf a kiss. "Danny, is it nap time?"

"Sure, just go to sleep," he said, laying me across a table.

"Know what's funny?" I mumbled.

"What?" Danny asked, sounding concerned.

"I feel the fire on the inside."

"What?" Robin questioned.

Danny put a hand on my shoulder, but quickly pulled back as it singed his hand. "She's hot."

"You said it," Robin joked with a laugh.

"Feel her you moron," Danny said, grabbing Robin's hand and forcing it onto my shoulder.

"Ouch!" he shouted, pulling back. "What's going on?"

"It has something to do with her powers, maybe that belt's bottling up her fire core too much."

"Her what?"

In that moment, fire slipped past my lips like when my ghost sense went off, but the belt shocked me for using my powers. Danny realized the problem, and quickly unlatched it, but that lead to all kinds of other problems. Mainly, my entire body burst into flames.

When I felt my internal temperatures return to normal, the fire stopped, and apparently I had changed to my ghost half again, but with a strange twist. There was a small mask covering up my eyes. With that realization, I lost consciousness.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Just warning y'all, there's a lot of Superman hating this chapter. It may annoy some people, but let's be honest, he was always a total jerk in _The Batman _series. Other than that, enjoy!**

I have to say, on my list of things I could wake up to, being beaten with a blanket is not one of my most favourable. "You're on fire!" the old British man shouted.

"I know that!" I shouted in surprise as I fell to the floor.

Rolling to a sitting position, I saw the orange flames burning on my arm. With a quick blow of icy-cold breath, it was put out.

"Right then," he said with obvious embarrassment he flattened out his tux.

"You don't have to worry about me Mister Pennyworth. The one good thing about these powers is fire resistance," I said, standing up.

"How do you know my name?" he questioned with surprise.

"What's to stop me from knowing your name? It's not a secret. Now how's the fight going?" I asked, moving towards one of the poles.

"Master Bruce has returned with three of those thermos contraptions. They need to be emptied before they can use them again. Superman seems to be able to slow them down with his ice abilities and Green Lantern's ring seems to have an affect them," he reported.

"Pft, super powered nerds. Batman and Arrow are cooler. What good's the speed force or hawk wings if you can't even stop ghosts? I mean, all these guys have no training in how to stop anything their powers can't affect," I muttered, walking in front of the bat computer.

"I'd say they're fairing pretty well," Alfred said, following me.

"They're not trained for this. They know nothing! But I guess I don't know what I'm doing either. Every other time there was a ghost invasion, it was led by one ghost we could just take out and the rest would leave," I said in frustration, sitting down in Batman's chair.

"_Kio malĝustas fajro infano?" _Wulf asked walking up behind me. "What's wrong fire child?"

"_Ĉu vi povas malfermi portalo? Estas kelkaj ujoj ni devas malplenigi,_" I responded, evading the question. "Can you open a portal? There are a few containers we have to empty."

With a hummed affirmative and a head nod, he stood ready for my go ahead. I quickly floated over to a table with three thermoses on it, each with an LED light flashing red. "Alright, tion faru," I said as I landed next to him with all three in hand.

With one swipe of his claws, a small portal was opened. Holding the three canisters up next to each other, aimed at the portal, I hit the release button. After a couple of seconds, they were all empty, and Wulf slammed the portal shut.

"_Dankon_," I said. "Thanks."

"_Vi estas bonvena,_" he replied. "You're welcome."

"My, what are you saying to that creature?" Alfred asked, walking up next to me with a bit of wariness towards Wulf.

"This big ol' ball of fur? Just minding me Ps and Qs. As far as I know, he's the only non-natural portal maker in this dimension, but I may be able to figure it out some day. Dan Phantom can."

"You mean that companion of yours?"

"Kind of. It's the future version of Danny if he ever goes bad. Long story, but it all starts with cheating on a test. He stopped it, probably. That's not saying anything about me though. As far as I know, I could end worlds at this point," I said, lighting a fireball in my hand before clenching a fist to put it out. The fire was a serious problem for me. It's dangerous and uncontrollable, not to mention it caused fear in pretty much every normal person. I mean, what kind of superhero wears nothing but blood red and black? Of course, what kind of a criminal is a teenage girl? Oh wait, bad question. In this dimension, Poison Ivy.

"It is not the colour of the dress that makes the woman beneath, and I doubt you'll turn out like Ms. Isley," the old butler said.

"Oh crap, did I say that out loud?" I asked with embarrassment.

"Indeed you did," he said with half a smirk.

"Aw man," I said with a face-palm. "I should go recirculation these. Guess I'll embarrass myself later then."

"I shall be looking forward to it," he said with a full smile as I floated up towards the top of the cave. "You may want to use that ghostly invisibility until you get far enough away from the manor."

"Yes sir," I said, turning intangible and invisible and flying out.

When I hit the edge of the city, I finally became visible. Finding a couple superheroes in a giant city was easier said than done. My best chance was to fly over the city and watch for fighting, except with Superman. He was flying over the city like the douche bag he is. So logically, he was the first one I headed towards. Oddly, his first reaction was to shoot me in the face with laser vision. Obviously, I used a mirror shield and yelled some unkind profanities before stating my purpose. He didn't seem to like his own lasers very well.

"If you're working with Batman, why did you reflect my heat vision back at me?" he questioned, unconvinced.

"You're the douche that shot me in the first place. Now take one of these and catch more ghosts," I said, offering him a thermos.

"What's to stop me from using this on you?" he questioned in a dark tone as he took it from me.

"What is up with you heroes and asking that? Those ghosts hate me too, and if I get sent into the Ghost Zone, I'll get ripped apart. Besides, cramped spaces really put me in the mood to tell Ms. Lane her nerdy coworker is Superman."

"How do you know that?" he questioned accusingly.

"Please, a pair of glasses? It's not that hard nimrod. Now get back to hero-ing before those ghosts overpower the street again."

"If you know who I am, I think I should know who you are," he said with smugness in his voice.

"Figure it out on your own Super-Brat, you did for Bats," I said with a rotten smile, diving towards the ground.

"Hey wait!" he called, chasing after me.

"Can't follow me here," I called, turning intangible and flying through the ground. Even in the midst of a ghost invasion, I was still being a jerk. But I have to say, trolling the man of steel was worth it.

Coming up about four streets away, I was lucky enough to find another hero. "Hey Martian, over here!" I called out to him.

He turned around, only to meet me with a mortified look on his face. "Are you here to fight spirit child?" he questioned with a hint of fear at the back of his voice.

"No, but uh, is something wrong sir?" I asked with confusion, checking over my body to make sure my legs were still there and everything. He just stood there, narrowing his eyes. "Oh my God, why didn't I think of it? Is it the hair?" I asked, pointing at the flaming strands.

_"Martians don't take well to fire,"_ he projected into my mind.

_"Sorry, let me try something,"_ I thought, making my hair be in its human form.

"Much better," he said with a slight smile.

"I'm redistributing thermoses. Are you in need?" I asked kindly.

"Yes, as is Green Lantern. I will leave the directions to his location in your mind if you'd like."

"With as lost as I feel in this city, I could use it," I said with an awkward smile.

"Alright, this may feel a little strange," he said, closing his eyes to focus.

A shiver ran down my side, and by some primal instinct the intrusion produced a knot of anxiety formed in my stomach, but I got the knowledge I required. "Thanks," I said.

"You are welcome," he said as I started floating towards Lantern's location.

It was an odd feeling to know the streets with such familiarity when in reality the place was completely foreign to me. It took only a split second to decide that telepaths are weird and that was not something I'd want to do again. I mean, great, instant transfer of information, but that felt weird.

"Ow!" I shouted, rubbing my head. Without even realizing it, I'd ran into a semi-transparent green wall and was trapped in a bubble. "I really need to pay more attention when I'm flying."

"You can say that again," a masculine voice said as its owner floated in front of me.

"Oh man, I am having such a bad day. Special delivery from the Batcave," I said, offering him the canister, though it would take him dropping the shield for me to give it to him.

"You one of Batman's sidekicks?" he asked with an odd look.

"Sure as hell hope not. I ain't ever dropping to sidekick level. So, have seen my friend? He's about yeah tall, he's got snow white hair and glowing green eyes, and some ghostly lookin' D on his chest."

"Sure. Saw him chasing some faceless ghost that way a few minutes ago," he said, letting his construct fade around me.

"Thanks. Happy ghost huntin'," I said, tossing him the thermos before rushing off in Danny's direction. Honestly, GL, Batman, and Green Arrow had been the only ones to take my arrival fairly well. Of course Batman was suspicious, but that's okay, he's like that with everyone. Sure, I didn't give Arrow much time to respond, but I didn't think he seemed too freaked out. Superman probably would have taken things better if I had, but I honestly can't stand that guy. Talk about a guy with an ego problem. He could use a teenage girl to take him down a peg.

But back to the action, I did end up finding Danny. What I didn't foresee was the fact that he was guarding the Clown Prince of Crime from Prince Aragon and Youngblood. Leave it to the Joker to piss off a short tempered prince and a short annoyance. I guess it made sense that he could see the little twerp.

"Phantom," I called as I descended to him, "what are you doing protecting the Joker?"

"The who?" he asked with a dumb look on his face.

"The criminal standing behind you Danny-boy," I said as I landed next to him. "Youngblood, Aragon, what'd he do to you guys?"

"He got itching powder all over my parrot!" Youngblood shouted in a squeaky voice.

"That psychotic entertainer threw a cream covered pastry in my face!" Aragon said in a high, authoritative voice with a hint of whininess.

"See? You might as well let him take a beating. Maybe it'd teach him a lesson one of these days," I said, crossing my arms.

"You wouldn't do that to me, would you ghost kids?" Joker said, holding his hands together and fluttering his eyelids like he was innocent.

"I won't, she would," Danny said.

"You act like I'm vile and evil. I'm just cute and cuddly on the inside," I said, putting my hand over my heart. "Now boys, what'll it take to get you to forget all about this crazy clown jerk?"

"His head," Aragon answered.

"A kiss from the prettiest girl around," Youngblood replied.

"Not the most feasible of things. How about a nice apology?" I said after holding back my gag reflex. It was bad enough kissing Tucker.

"Aw come on!" Youngblood whined.

"Or I could make your entire body combust into flames," I said, letting my entire body demonstrate.

"Okay," he squeaked.

"Aragon?" I asked expectantly.

"I will accept an apology from this oaf," he sighed reluctantly.

"Joker, tell the nice, forgiving ghosts you're sorry," I ordered with blood red eyes.

"Sorry," he squeaked, shrinking behind Danny.

"Now you two get out of here, and you better not give me any lip dragon boy," I ordered to the two ghosts.

Youngblood flew off as fast as he could, but Aragon stuck around just long enough to give me a dirty look before he left. I sighed, letting my eyes turn green again. "You mind putting me out Phantom?"

Quick to respond with his new abilities, he froze about an eighth of an inch layer of ice all over my body which my body temperature rapidly melted off. "You didn't have to scare them that much," Danny insisted with a frown.

"Okay Sam, I'll remember that the next time I'm trying to get two ghosts off a psycho's back without confrontation," I retorted.

"You are such a-"

"Hey! I think you just got scarier than Batsy. Wanna be partners? All you'd need is a little makeup here, some gag tricks there, and a nice chemical bath," Joker interjected.

"You disgust me," I said, shooting him a dirty look.

"Why is your hair brown?" Danny asked with a bit of confusion.

"Is it still? I thought I fixed that," I said, quickly changing it back to white. "It was giving Martian Manhunter the creeps. Have you run into any other weird looking humans running around the city?"

"Other than those heroes that are working with that bat guy?"

"Yeah, maybe someone in green with a question mark obsession, or a fat guy with a huge top hat and a suit?"

"Oh you mean Riddler and Penguin? Sadly to say those two party poopers are still running around, trying to take control of my part of the city again," Joker whined.

"And how did you all get out?" I questioned.

"Why, some vampire-ish looking fellow made the south wall of the asylum disappear," the clown responded.

Mortified looks plastered me and Danny's faces. "Vlad," we both said at once.

"Who?" the clown questioned with a smile.

"What would he want here? I mean, his whole life mission is to get your mom," I said.

"Maybe he didn't know it was a one-way portal," he suggested.

"There's no way he would have gone in without knowing where it went and what it was. Wouldn't that mean he'd have to leave millions of dollars behind? I don't think he'd do something that'd risk his cash," I said.

"Millions?" Joker questioned, almost having dollar signs in his eyes.

"But if you're right, what purpose would he have in coming here? This place kind of sucks for the time being," Danny said.

"Let's just hope he's the only halfa that decided to cross over. God forbid if Danielle or even evil you happened to get across."

"Ooh, an evil counterpart? That sounds fun," Joker inserted.

"Dude, shut up before I phase you back into Arkham," I threatened.

"Well then, I guess Riddler and Penguin aren't the only party poopers. Consider my offer rescinded," he said, waving his hand.

"I don't care," I said, narrowing my eyes.

"Lighten up Shadow. Now if we want to rest in the next three days, we might want to get to work. Our thermos ended up with Robin, so I've just been helping people get to safety. Do you want to join me or do you want to go find one of the other heroes to help out?" Danny asked.

"Screw playing sidekick, let's go save civilians, starting with flying this annoyance back to a padded room," I said, turning an eye towards the clown. I honestly don't know why he didn't run off. "Just saying, you're carrying him."


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys and girls! Soo, I made one little error that one of our guest users pointed out, and now that I think about it, they're right. Not being a major Hawkman fan, I forget that Nth metal is supposed to have power over supernatural forces. Thank you for the correction, I'll be sure to work it in at some point. For that matter, if there's anything I don't think about from the Justice League characters, feel free to mention it. Flash, Arrow, Superman, and Batman are really the whole of my expertise, leaving pretty much Martian and Hawkman untouched and Green Lantern I only have the basics on. Anyway, I can't wait for this battle to end, so hopefully I can tie it up soon. Now, Enjoy!**

"You know, there's one thing that's really been bugging me," I said as we flew towards Arkham.

"What is it?" Danny asked.

"Do we even have to breathe?" I asked with curiosity.

"Not as ghosts I don't think. It's more of a habit than a requirement. I've talked underwater before, so obviously that doesn't hurt us not to."

"You kids breathe?" Joker questioned with a smile.

"I wonder, is clown gas flammable?" I said with an edge of a threat.

"You really are a party pooper. Has Batsy been talking about me again?"

"Batman would use your name as a curse word if he weren't as decent of a man as he is. Needless to say, you don't come up very much," I said, glaring at the green haired freak.

"Then how do you know all of my fun tricks?"

"I watched way too many cartoons as a kid," I said in a flat tone.

"Ooh, so you were fun once!"

"Danny, how the hell are you dealing with this annoyance so well," I questioned.

"I'm just enjoying the fact that someone bugs you more than the Box Ghost. Speaking of which, I wonder if anyone's caught him yet," he responded.

"He's probably been caught, escaped, caught again, escaped again, and is now probably bugging some storage facility throwing boxes at God knows what."

"I don't get how that guy gets out all the time," he said.

"I know right? And it's always some rant about 'Face my cube shaped containers of doom!' Ugh, I can't stand that guy!"

"He sounds like fun, maybe I should meet him," Joker said with a smile.

"After you were dumb enough to piss off even Youngblood, I think you should leave befriending ghosts to other ghosts," I said, narrowing my eyes with annoyance.

"You mean like that guy?" he asked, pointing back with his thumb.

"What?" Danny and I both questioned at once, turning around.

There was a violet flash, a cry of pain from Danny, and a scream of terror from the clown. I followed my first instinct and rushed towards the falling freak. He stopped screaming when I caught him.

"Aren't you going to save your friend?" he questioned.

"I am," I said, motioning towards the me rushing to protect Danny up over the top of us with my head.

"You didn't say you had a twin!" he joked and started laughing.

"You're an idiot," I said as I duplicated again, leaving the duplicate to take him from my hands.

"How many of you are there?"

"Enough. This one's going to take you back to Arkham. Don't try to escape," I informed before flying back up towards Danny.

"What are you doing here Plasmius?" Danny questioned.

"Now Daniel, if I told you that you might foil my plan, but who am I kidding, you two could never stop me. I liquidated all of my assets before coming here in order to have the opportunity to make even more money. Really, you can thank yourself Kira. You were the one that made me realize that attaining Maddie was impossible," he said with a superior tone.

"I see our little heart to heart got you somewhere, but you're going in the wrong direction. You have more of a purpose in life than to just get money. So tell me, what was your real motivation?" I questioned, crossing my arms.

"Well there was one person I couldn't attain in that dimension, but I see two here I can. I don't presume you two have a place to stay?"

"We can make arrangements, ones that don't involve you," I said, narrowing my eyes.

"You couldn't get us last time, you're not getting us this time fruit loop," Danny said. "Why don't you just get a cat like every other lonely millionaire?"

"How many times must I say, I will not get a cat!" he shouted, shooting a horizontal slash of ecto-energy at us. I realized it was probably impossible for Danny's shield to stop it, so I made one wide enough to cover both of us.

"Why don't you learn how to buzz off!" I shouted as my eyes turned red and a whole line of probably ten Shadowrules split out of me.

"There's that temper again. You really are more like me than you know," Vlad said with a grin as he split off into enough Vlads to match me.

"There is one way I'm different than you," I said, breathing heavily out of anger.

"And how's that?"

"My energy doesn't have to split between my duplications," I said as all eleven of me let out ghostly wails, shattering all of Vlad's duplicates on impact and sent him flying back to God knows where. It was like watching a shooting star vanish into the distance. Hopefully he ended up in China.

"It's okay Shadow, you can calm down now," Danny said, putting a hand on the original me's shoulder.

I took a deep breath and the duplicates all faded away, letting me reabsorb their energy. "Sorry D. Did they have a designated area for you to leave the civilians, or have you just been taking them away from the action?"

"I've just been dropping them off anywhere that seems safe. Could you find some place and make a perimeter out of duplicates?"

"Sounds like a plan. I could probably make enough mindless duplicates to make a big ghost shield like your parents. It'll be smaller, but it should protect enough people that the Justice League won't have to worry about them getting in the way. Gotham Park should be a good enough place," I suggested.

"Sounds like a plan. Where's Gotham Park at?"

I turned my head about ninety degrees and pointed towards a big green planted area of the city. "Over there. I'll send out some duplicates to set up and clear the area, and I'll be here to help you save civilians," I said as I split off four duplicates. It was a whole lot easier now that I didn't need to focus my mind on what they were thinking. "Speaking of duplicates, Joker has just arrived at Arkham Asylum," I said as I retrieved the energy from that copy.

"Alright, let's go," he said as my duplicates flew off and we started flying towards some people in obvious trouble.

I shot away two ectopuses that were chasing a small group of people. "We're working with the Justice League. There's a safe zone in Gotham Park. Do you want me to take you there?" I asked the group.

With half terrified looks, they nodded their heads. I lowered my head and made enough duplicates to take each of them to the park at once. They could help with the shield when they got there. The process was repeated time after time until I got strained at fifty. That was my limit. So it ended up with Danny and I doing run after run with the youngest, oldest, and injured people while we told the rest where to head.

On one of my trips to get more people, I spotted smoke coming from a building. Danny was just dropping someone off, so I had one of the duplicates tell him the emergency. Needless to say, he rushed out as quickly as he could. There were cries from the street that some people were trapped on the top floor. I hurried to fly in.

Immediately, the strong smell of smoke and ash hit me like a wall. It burned my throat until I remembered I didn't need to breathe. The room was blazing hot, but it didn't hurt me. "Hey, where are you?" I shouted as I heard screaming.

"Over here!" a voice shouted. It sounded kind of familiar, but I couldn't tell over the crackling of the flames. Without any alarms going off not to, I went towards the voice.

"Are you injured?" I called out in the poor visibility.

"No, but there's no way in here, debris is blocking the doorway," she answered.

"I can get in," I said as I intangibly walked straight through the blockage.

"How did you do that?" the Asian woman clad in a red jacket asked.

"Haven't you looked outside lately Detective? It seems like everyone's doing it now a days. Do you know where anyone else is?" I asked as I recognized her as Detective Ellen Yin.

"Yeah, my neighbor's daughter is trapped in the next apartment. I heard her screaming."

"I think I did too. I'll go get her real quick and then I'll float you both down to the ground alright?"

"Okay, just hurry. I'm not sure about the integrity of this building."

I nodded my head and let out a horse cough before flying through the wall towards the screams from earlier. The girl I found was a tall brunette with green eyes about my age that was screaming her head off. "Hey, calm down. It's okay, I'm here to get you out," I said, putting my hand on her shoulder.

"Thank God, I thought I was going to die in here," she said, turning around to hug her arms around me.

"Alright, what's your name?" I asked calmly.

"Kristen Brown," she said in a shaky voice. "But my friends call me Kris."

"Alright Kris, hold on to me as tight as you can. We're going to go get Detective Yin next door and then I'm going to fly you both down okay?"

"Okay," she replied.

With that, I flew her and me through the wall to the coughing detective. "Grab on Detective, I don't need anyone falling on my watch," I said, offering out a hand while Kris pretty much clung to the other half of my body. The older woman held on tightly and I flew us up and through the outside wall of the building, then down to the street bellow.

Paramedics came to take the two women just as the top of the building started crashing in on itself. I flew back up to freeze the surface to keep it in place and put out the fire until the area could be cleared. The next thing I did was land next to an ambulance.

"Excuse me sir," I called to one of the EMTs.

"Sorry kid, I don't have time to talk," he said, walking right past me.

"And I don't have time to be called a kid. We've been taking injured people to Gotham Park. There's a containment zone there. If you're smart enough to listen to me, you'll call over an ambulance or two to go there and help," I said, floating up in front of him.

"Oh, of course," he said, finally analyzing the situation. "The only problem is, two of our trucks got caught in traffic by everyone trying to get out of town."

"I can get them. Do you have a last known location?"

"Yeah, I'll mark it on a map for you," he said, heading to the front of the truck and grabbing a large paper map of the city. "Last we knew," he said, pulling out a blue highlighter, "they were here and here."

"Alright, thanks. I'll get them out of there in no time," I said, taking the map.

"If you don't mind my asking, how?"

"Well, not as strong as Superman, but I can still lift a whole school bus if I need to," I said, glancing over the map and finding my current location. "Thanks again," I said as I started flying up to get a bird's eye view.

"Aw, this night is going to last forever!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Oh man, Kira's really going to get sick of people in this chapter. Between being belittled and tired and having to be angry to augment her powers, it's a rough day. But anyways, enjoy!**

Getting the ambulances was easy. All that I had to deal with was a few weak, straggling ghosts. The only problem was the extra strain on my powers was tiring me out. "Hey, Danny," I called over.

"What do you need Shadow?" he asked, floating over to me.

"My energy's too strained to keep up all these duplicates and use my powers. I'll have to sneak off and try to match the crowd, maybe do some help in human form," I explained.

"Alright, I understand. I'll keep getting injured people to bring back. Try to see if there are any supplies the medical team or the kids need," he said, flying up.

"Alright, I'll see you the next time you drop someone off," I said, nodding and floating invisibly behind a tree before changing back. I quickly straightened out my outfit and jogged over to the shield and waited for the duplicate to let me in. "Thanks," I said, so obviously talking to myself as I walked past the nodding duplicate.

It was a sad scene. Everyone looked scared. Little kids were asking if anyone knew where their moms were. Some people had burns or sprained ankles or all around broken limbs. A world overrun by ghosts was not one that was fun to live in.

My eye was caught by a tall, familiar looking, black man. He looked very awkward and uncomfortable, and I knew why. Being the kind of person I am, I walked up to him. "Hello Detective, sir," I greeted him.

"Uh, hey," he said quite awkwardly.

I took a slow look around, and then turned back to him. "You don't like this place do you?"

"I like it, they just don't like me being here," he said, looking at a woman who was turning her kids away from him.

"But you got cured, didn't you? I mean, I don't see why they shouldn't trust you."

"Once you've been cracked, people tend to stay back, other than you."

"I think I can trust you. We've all got a bit of crazy on the inside. People who snuff their noses at that are just afraid to admit it to themselves. Have you played any basketball with Mr. Wayne?" I asked in a creepily calm voice I normally turn to when I think too much.

"How do you know I hang out with Bruce?" he questioned with suspicion.

"I know a lot of things. So how are things going now anyway? I assume you got reinstated."

"Yeah, the second I was deemed fit the Commissioner asked for me personally to come back to work. How do you know any of this?"

"You'll see soon enough, I think," I said with a shrug. "If not, it won't matter."

"Who are you?"

"Oh, my momma taught me better than that, if she were still around. I'm Kira Blake," I said, extending a hand.

"Ethan Bennett, but I think you know that already," he said, accepting it.

"You're right. Have you happened to hear anything about what the kids need or maybe supplies the ambulance crew needs?" I asked.

"Sure, they need all kinds of stuff, but what are you going to do?"

"I have a friend. See the ghost girl making up this shield?" I said, pointing to the top of the dome.

"Well yeah."

"Her brother, that Danny Phantom guy, he was a friend when he was alive. I'm helping him figure out what he needs to bring in," I said. It wasn't really a lie. I do know him when he's alive.

"You better get right to that then," he said, obviously thinking I was lying.

My eyes narrowed with frustration. "My father was a police officer too, I know when one thinks you're just being a kid, but I'm not. These people need help, and if you're not going to help them, I don't know how you can call yourself one of Gotham's not so finest," I said with annoyance, clenching my fists at the stupidity of adults.

"Alright, alright, calm down. We'll figure this out. Where are your parents?" he hushed.

"Long gone. After we lost our parents, my friend and I started chasing the Phantoms cross country. If don't believe a word I say, don't pretend to. I don't like when people lie to me," I said, turning to walk away.

"Wait, your friend?" he questioned, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah, my friend. Black hair, blue eyes, white shirt. We got separated when the bad ghosts came. I didn't think they'd come here. I thought it was just supposed to be us, but they came too," I said with frustration. This was all my fault, but I had to fix it.

"What are you talking about?"

"It doesn't matter now. Help me help these people, please. I need to do this," I said, turning to stare him in the eyes with nothing short of conviction.

"Well-" he started before he was cut off by a wisp of breath leaving my mouth. "What was that?"

"Bad news," I said, running to the closest duplicate. "Let me out now," I ordered.

The duplicates parted an opening and their ghost senses all finally went off. I flicked out my arm by instinct, readying my wrist ray. "What are you doing?" Detective Bennett questioned as he ran out after me.

"Stay back Detective, this is too dangerous for you," I ordered, looking around frantically for where the ghost was coming from.

"Drop that weapon!" he ordered, finally noticing my cuff.

"It can't hurt you," I said, still looking. My eye finally caught on to Technus in a huge set of electronic armour. "It can only hurt him."

"What the heck!" he shouted, looking at the giant machine and then back at the wall of Shadowrules. "Why aren't they doing anything?"

"They can't, they have to protect the civilians. I'm the only one that can fight this thing," I said, aiming my wrist ray up at him.

"Haha ghost child! Your barriers will not last forever!" he shouted, making the ground shake with his approach.

"But I will," I said, firing off a line of shots at him.

"I see you've expended so much of your energy that you've resorted to using human weapons," he said as he quickly recovered from the weak weapon. "Too bad your hip trinket can't do anything to stop me."

"Never say hip again," I said as I shot another few futile rounds at the jerk.

I knew it was useless as he drew closer, but at least I was trying. "With no powers or boyfriend to save you, your attacks will only be futile," Technus shouted.

"First off, HE IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND! Secondly, what's to stop him from saving me now?" I questioned, still shooting.

"I am," he said, pulling out an unconscious Danny Phantom in his giant metal hand.

"Danny!" I shouted, running straight for the giant tin-can-of-a ghost.

"How do you intend to stop me child?" Technus questioned as I got closer.

"I don't need to stop you, I just need to slow you down!" I shouted as I reached the base of his structure and started jumping to climb up his leg, using a bit of flight, but not too much as to look suspicious. With every new jump, I shot my wrist ray directly at him. It was about the equivalent of a bee sting with how big he was, but it was disrupting him.

All was going fairly well, until I got in front of him and he snatched me mid-jump. I felt like some kind of human doll as I was pulled straight up to his face, struggling all the way. "It is time for a recall, you better make your announcement," he quipped.

"Oh, your catch phrases are getting better. I'll remember to include that in the next action figure deal. Until then, NOT GONNA HAPPEN!" I shouted.

"Do it before I crush you into your afterlife," he ordered, tightening his grip.

I could feel my bones pressing together and my chest compressing. A moan of pain pressed out through my clenched teeth as one of the duplicates in the barrier fizzled out of existence. Technus's laugh rang through my ears, and when he loosened his grip just a little bit, my body sagged forward. "Get angry, get angry," I muttered to myself. "Hey Dorknus, is that all you've got?"

He went to squeeze again and as another two duplicates fell, he said, "Your powers will never match that of Technus! Master of all technology!"

"Okay, that worked a little," I muttered between breaths as he loosened his grip a little bit. "You really think you can take me out one or two copies at a time? You're gonna have to try harder than that you school-yard cyber bully."

"How about I take them out all at once by destroying the shrimp of a source file?" he said as he tried again.

"Now you've done it," I said as my eyes flashed bright red. The metal around my body started to melt, and the duplicates copied ten-fold, sending most of those to swarm around the robotic freak. One of them retrieved Danny, and one freed me before an onslaught of fire and red ecto-energy consumed Technus's armour. I heard his scream before he flew out of the clearing fire with nothing but melted plastic and metal around him.

"But how? How could anyone defeat Technus, Master of-"

He was cut off by a thermos sucking him in like nothing. "That's about enough of that," came the voice of Hal Jordon. He flew down to where the duplicate had dropped me off and asked, "Are you okay kid?"

"No," I said, breathing heavily, "but I will be when this night is over. Obviously our safe zone's working out. How's the catching going?"

"Your safe zone?" he asked with confusion.

"Obviously I am them," I said, motioning to the clones that were having to reduce in number from my calming mood.

"Wait, you're a human too?"

"Duh, and my powers have anger augmentation, so you probably don't want to annoy with me right now. They wouldn't know any different. They're just clones."

"That must be stressful on you having that much stress on your powers. I mean, that does seem like a lot of clones," he pointed out.

"I'm exhausted, but I have to keep the shield up," I said with a sigh.

"Let me take care of it a while. You two, or fifty, should get back to Batman's place to rest," he suggested.

"Sounds like a good plan," I said as twenty-five duplicates fizzled and the others waited a second for GL to take over before popping away too. Only one of them remained to take Danny and me out of there. "Thanks," I said to the emerald hero.

"Don't mention it," he said as he flew over to join the people in the shield.

I wrapped my arms around my duplicates neck and she picked up Danny. Then she started flying towards the manor. I had to fight of the fatigue of the hard night, but I knew this was the last I could do for the day. The rest of my business would have to wait for morning, if the heroes hadn't cleaned the city up by then.


	6. Chapter 6

**A lot of fixing things up today. Also, a lot of Superman hate, obviously. I'm sorry, I just don't like that guy. Maybe they'll be friends later, but Kira's got a serious problem with egocentric people, even if she is one sometimes. Plus, a visit from my favorite ghost! Not really, but he's awesome.**

I ended up sleeping for ten hours straight. Danny did eventually wake up, but he left me behind. Rule number one: never make that many clones again. Rule number two: for the sake of not going to the chiropractor, never fall asleep on the Batcave floor again.

Well, past that, waking up to Robin jumping all over the place was better than getting beat with a blanket. "We won, we won!" he shouted, doing flips over me.

"Did we?" I questioned tiredly, sitting up and grabbing his leg to trip him as he tried jumping over me again.

"Ow! No thanks to you sleeping beauty," he grumbled.

"Oh, so you do think I'm pretty," I mocked, putting my hand over my chest.

"Robin, knock it off," Batman ordered, walking up with his cowl down. "She did a lot more than just fight, she saved lives, in and out of costume."

"What?" the boy questioned.

"I had to hold off Technus as Kira Blake until Lantern came and helped out," I said, standing up.

"How?"

"With technology and intelligence rather than muscles," I explained, tapping the cuff on my wrist. "Has Danny got back yet?"

"He's upstairs getting lunch," Bruce said. "You could go up and join him, but I think there are some things we need to discus."

"Yeah!" Robin said in a mocking tone.

"Dick, go change and meet us upstairs," Bruce ordered.

"Aw!" Robin complained before slugging off.

I watched him walk away for a little bit, but my mindlessness was interrupted when Bruce piped up. "You two don't have a home do you?"

"No sir," I said in a quiet, serious voice.

After a moment of silence, he asked, "You two aren't on the grid?"

"No sir."

"And you two can be in a normal state all of the time?"

"Danny can, I have a harder time with it. I have to release energy almost constantly or I'll burn up, and if I don't change forms every once and a while it gets worse."

"If I could get you two set up with legitimate identification, would you two stay here?"

"Are you sure you can handle two more teenagers?" I asked seriously.

"Well there are more than enough rooms, and I doubt you two could be that hard to handle."

"So you're sure?"

"Two kids with as much courage and selflessness as you? Of course I am."

"Alright, but there's one thing you have to know. I'm not selfless, I'm just sick of being selfish," I said, turning away from him and flying up through the ceiling to the mansion.

"What'd he say?" Dick questioned as soon as I walked into the dining room.

"You're going to be our new brother," I said as I walked past him.

"What?" he and Danny questioned in perfect unison.

"See, I can already see the resemblance. But just sayin' D, you might want to use a different name. Ghost boy Danny Phantom and girl Shadowrule show up in town one day, rich man adopts Danny Fenton and Kira Blake the next day. Sounds kinda suspicious," I said, sitting down where Danny had just stood up from and stealing his plate of food.

"Hey!" he complained.

"I have to agree with her," Bruce said, walking into the room with his hands in the pockets of a suit he'd put on. "On the name part, not taking over your plate."

I smiled and shrugged before taking a bite of some kind of fancy meat I'd never seen before off of Danny's plate. "But if I can't use my real name, what am I supposed to call myself?"

"How about James Daniel Fenton. All you got to do is switch your first and middle name," I suggested after swallowing what I was chewing. "You'll still always be Danny to me, just not in public."

"And you'll still always be Danielle to me," he remarked.

"So we have a deal?" Bruce inserted.

Danny just stared at him with suspicion and questioned, "And why should we trust you?"

"Why shouldn't you?" Bruce asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Danny, not every millionaire we meet is a deranged fruit-loop that wants to date your mom, kill your dad, and take advantage of our powers. He's fricken' Batman not Plasmius."

"Who's Plasmius?" Bruce questioned with a hint of anger towards such a distasteful man.

"Let's just say if Danny were Superman, he'd be his Lex Luther. Vladimir Masters, AKA Vlad Plasmius: dreadfully annoying, lonely, and highly skilled old half-ghost. He stole his millions by possessing leaders of big companies and donating to his trust fund," I explained. "Might suggest mass producing those Specter Deflectors and ghost weapons. Wouldn't want you and your rich buddies losing all your money."

"I don't have rich 'buddies'."

"I'm sorry, the people who pose as your buddies to make your day-life seem more normal," I clarified, giving him an intelligent look.

"I think I'm going to like having a level headed kid in the house for once," Bruce said, admiring my obvious knowledge.

"Level headed's not exactly the right term for it. I just have a little sneak peak at what life's gonna be like here."

"Any spoilers?" Dick asked.

"That'd ruin the ending," I said with a grin.

"You shouldn't be asking for information we don't have yet Dick, it could seriously alter our timeline," Bruce said.

"You hit the nail on the head there, but I think accidentally bringing a ghost army to your dimension did enough of that on its own," I said.

"Didn't your whole no interference thing fail when you exposed Paulina to the fact that half ghosts exist in my dimension?" Danny shot at me.

"Best laid plans right? Added to that, I'm hoping to just forget that little annoyance ever existed, so can we drop any references to little miss pretty girl?" I said, shooting him a glare.

"Speaking of dropping subjects, who were you talking about when you asked you 'hypothetical' about someone knowing our secret and not saying anything?" he questioned.

"Honestly? It was Lancer, and that's not because of me, that's because you were sloppy and I just ended up giving him the last dots he needed to make a picture," I returned. "Past that, Superman's gonna realize it in three, two, one."

And at my last word, Clark Kent walked into the room. "Ghost kids make quite a ruckus when they're playing human," he said, leaning against the doorframe with a cocky smile. "How'd you know I was going to show up?"

"For what you lack in intelligence, you make up for in how clunky your shoes are. I realized they were loud enough to be a man and figured the first guy that'd strut in like such a woman to see Bruce after a battle would have to be you Clarky," I explained in a snide tone.

He shot Bruce an odd look to which he replied, "If it makes it any better, I knew you were coming too."

"So you're taking in sidekicks that aren't even human now?" Clark asked sarcastically.

"One, not a sidekick. Two, we're more human than you Kal-El of Krypton," I spat. "At least I was born on the Earth farm I grew up on."

"You're a farm kid?" he questioned with obvious disbelief.

"No, I grew up on a farm. My grandfather built a house for my father right in the center of his farm. My dad was… is a cop and I always tried to distance myself as far as possible from farm duties, but I think my brother enjoyed it. And before you ask the question, the name's Kira," I said, glaring at him before returning to eat my stolen lunch.

"How does she know all of this?" he finally asked Bruce.

"Don't ask me, but from what I know, you don't want to get on her bad side," he responded.

"Yeah, normally it ends up with a few leveled buildings and a lot of bruises," Danny added.

"I don't think I have to worry about that," Clark said with a tone of arrogance.

"I could just overshadow your body and make you hit your head repeatedly into a wall while exposing you to Kryptonite at the same time," I said coolly before going back to eating like nothing happened.

"And you trust these kids?" Clark questioned Bruce.

"She doesn't have a problem with me," he said with a shrug. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that was a bit of amusement in his voice.

"Well what is your problem with me?" he questioned, finally asking me something for once.

"Ain't it obvious superbrat? You're untrained, you make dumb decisions, and you're way too much of a show off. Besides, super powers are over rated, no offense Danny. He's more kickass than you and he doesn't even need 'em," I said, motioning towards Bruce.

"So you don't like me because I have super powers?"

"I don't like you because you're stupid," I corrected. "Don't get me wrong Smallville, I know you probably have some ingenious alien intelligence, but you majorly lack tactics and get too sure of yourself for your own good. Truth be told, I could beat you in a fight, but you won't believe me until it actually happens, and knowing my temper, it will, and you're left totally helpless to the rage of my fire core."

"I don't think I like you."

"And I'm perfectly okay with that. I don't think I really like me either."

"At least she's honest," Bruce said with slightly wide eyes. "Now if you don't mind Clark, I've got things I have to do today."

"You billionaires always have something to do," he responded.

"And you reports are always there to put it in the papers the next morning," Bruce said.

"What are you doing this time?"

"First, making those two alive legally speaking, then get Gordon to let me take the place of their guardian."

"You have to be joking," Clark said, far from laughing.

"Clark, they're obviously heroes. More than that, they understand and know these ghosts that are going to remain a problem. Even more than that, they're kids. I've made my choice, your opinions can't sway me," Bruce said with the most confident look ever.

All was silent until Clark piped up with one more detail. "What's that noise?"

"What noise?" Dick questioned.

"It sounds like-"

"Boxy!" I shouted as the blue skinned crate creep flew through the wall. "I was wondering when you'd show up."

"What on Earth?" Clark questioned.

"I AM THE BOX GHOST, master of all things cardboard and square!" he proclaimed.

"Man, I was worried you didn't pass through. How you enjoying the new dimension?" I said.

"You… wanted me to be here?" he asked.

"Of course, you make for good comedic relief," I said with a smile. "However, that doesn't mean I'm not going to do this," I added, zapping him with an ectoblast followed by Danny quickly catching him with a thermos. "Thinking of fighting ghosts, is Oliver gonna return my bow?"

"Sure, we can get it after we go to the police station. He hasn't gone back to Star City yet as far as I know," Bruce said.

"_You _have a bow?" Clark questioned.

"Yeah, Ember taught me how to make one out of energy," I said with a shrug.

"Wait, you were hanging out with Ember?" Danny questioned with anger.

"Hey, I'm sorry I have more ghost friends than you, and I needed help. Plus I got to dance around Skulker like he was nothing 'cause someone's afraid of their girlfriend," I said.

"Skulker's dating Ember? Wait, wait, off topic. That's the second time you've gone and ran off with the bad guys," he scolded.

"That's the second time I've needed to. It's called putting differences aside to get what you want. All I had to do was get Klemper off her case and she helped me figure out how to make solid objects out of ectoplasm."

"Where'd you leave him?"

"Just a not-so-soundproof ghost trap in Dash's vents," I said with a grin.

"And I'm a little more okay with this now."

"You've sided with the bad guys before?" Bruce questioned, a little annoyed.

"*Cough* *cough* Catwoman *cough*," I mocked.

"She makes a point."

"Shut up Clark."


	7. Chapter 7

**Ah, the smell of donuts... Anyway, hope you all are enjoying this so far. Remember, comments and favorites are always appreciated just to prove y'all are out there, and any suggestions you might have could make an interesting impact at some point. And for the record, the colour of the day is green! Okay, just had to have a childish moment. Carry on. :)**

The police station was an odd place. Very Mafia aged, very stereotypical, and reeking very much so of donuts. I remember my father refused to eat those things in public in fear of the embarrassment to his fellow officers. I noticed most of them were on one fat man's desk. Though I couldn't remember his name, I remembered he was a big figure before Gordon stepped in. I just wished I could remember more.

It took me a moment to see the old commissioner. With his orange-brown hair broken by sides of white, his intelligent glasses, and strong stance, you could just see leadership and respect radiate off of him. I was taken by surprise when he said his first words to Bruce, and I remembered he was just a normal guy.

"Hello Mr. Wayne, what can I help you with?" he asked quite politely.

"Well, this is a bit of a long story. Can we talk in your office?" Bruce said coolly.

"Sure thing," Gordon said, leading us towards his office.

The door was large, mostly solid dark wood other than a window with his name on it. Inside was a large desk, two older looking chairs, and one big chair behind his desk. Bruce told Danny and me to take the seats, but I refused and told him to take it. I took a stance behind Danny with my hands on the back of his chair as the commissioner sat down.

"So who are the kids?" Gordon asked.

"Kira Blake," I answered.

"James Fenton," Danny said almost reluctantly.

"They showed up at my mansion when those things were attacking. No parents, no records, not much of anything really," Bruce clarified.

"So where did you two come from?" Gordon asked with curiosity.

"We got grabbed by the ghost when they were coming here, ripped out of… well pretty much the streets," I said, lowering my face for effect. "Haven't seen our parents in… how long Jamey?"

"I don't remember," he said, playing along well with the lie for once, but using his typical tell of rubbing his neck. It just made it all the more convincing.

"Do you have their names?" Gordon asked with obvious sympathy.

"No, and they were always real 'off-the-grid' kind of people. We've tried finding them, but in our years of search, we came up with a whole lot of nothing," I said.

"Years?"

"I don't even remember their faces," Danny lied. I think I was making him improve.

"My little brother and I have been on our own a long time sir," I said politely. "There were people that helped us out in our old town. Kind of a hangout for homeless kids helping each other out. But being dropped here, we don't really have that."

"So you finally turned to legitimate help," Gordon inferred.

"Yeah," Danny said, using lines from the rehearsed story, "we heard about Mr. Wayne's donations and stuff to that children's hospital. We figured he could help us figure out what to do."

"Smart kids. I'll set you up with one of my guys. He'll help you figure out all the paperwork and you can fill any of the blanks you remember. After that, we can get you circulating in the system," Gordon said, organizing his desk as he talked.

"Actually, that's something I want to talk to you about. Could we speak while they're figuring out their paperwork?" Bruce asserted.

"Of course," Gordon said, standing up and sticking his head out his door. "Hey Bennett, do you have time to help me with a small issue?"

"Sure thing Commissioner," the familiar voice responded, walking into the room. "Kira?" he questioned when he saw me.

"Hey Detective Ethan," I said with a dorky smile.

"You two know each other?" Gordon asked with confusion.

"We met at the safe zone in the park when those ghost things were invading. She ran off after holding back this giant ghost robot thing," Ethan responded with amazement.

"No big deal. I was pretty much the equivalent of a mosquito to that guy. I was just trying to distract Technus until one of the heroes could stop him," I said, shrugging it off.

"How on earth did you do that?" Gordon questioned with wide eyes.

"Just some tech Danny Phantom gave me," I responded.

"Danny Phantom?"

"The ghost boy that was helping the Justice League fight off the other ones," I said.

"Why did a ghost give you a ghost weapon?"

"Because his sister was holding up the shield and he knew she couldn't fight off the bigger ghosts so he gave me the tools to protect her."

"Well, we may need to talk more about this later, but until then, go with Detective Bennett. He'll get you what you need. Bennett, these kids need filed to get birth certificates and legal recognition," Gordon ordered.

"Yes sir," Ethan said. "Come on."

Danny and I followed him out of the room. After a short walk, we ended up in a room with bleach white walls and two desks and one Detective Ellen Yin.

"Hey Yin. This is my partner, Detective Ellen Yin. Yin, this is Kira and…" Ethan started.

"James," Danny said.

"Right. I've got to help bring these kids to life, so to speak. Do you know where the paperwork is for that?" Ethan asked Yin.

"File 37C. Have we met?" she said, turning to me.

"Just now ma'am," I answered, feeling a little nervous under my skin.

"Maybe I caught a glimpse of you in that safe area," she said, still sounding suspicious.

"Maybe. There were lots of people there. I probably didn't even notice you in the crowd. Kind of just background noise I guess," I shrugged as Ethan pulled out the files.

"Alright, full names?" Ethan asked, scanning over the paper.

"Kira Danielle Blake," I answered.

"James Daniel Fenton," Danny said.

"Alright, parents names?"

"I think Mom's last name was Blake, and James's got the same mom and his dad's name was Fenton, but I can't remember their first names, and Jamey would have been too little," I said, rubbing my neck as if deep in thought.

"Okay, age or birthdays?"

"Sometime during March I think. If I'm right, 16? I think I'm one year his senior," I said. "It's been a long time. It's really just a guess from the weather more than anything."

"That's alright, what's you favorite number?" Ethan asked.

I knew where he was going. "16 I guess," I said.

"Alright, your birth date is March 16, 1992," he said.

"Are you allowed to do that?" Danny asked.

"Probably not, but we don't have any real way of knowing. How about you?" Ethan asked.

"July, and I guess it'll be the 21st," he responded.

"July 21, 1991," Ethan confirmed, writing it down. "Let's see, eyes are green and blue, hair is brown and black. Do you remember what state you came from?"

"Iowa," Danny answered, stealing my state for the sake of me remembering it.

"Male and female," he muttered. "Okay, sign here."

I took a pen from him and signed my name on my paper then Danny took it and struggled to write James D Fenton. "So you're parents went with a Danny theme?" Ethan asked.

"I guess so," I said with a smile towards Danny.

Yin hummed a noise of thought and seemed to analyze me, mostly aiming her eyes towards my neck. Without even realizing it, my hand reached up and touched my necklace with the lightest of movements, and then I regained thought and it shot back down. Figuring there was nothing wrong with her being suspicious, being Batman's friend and all, I shot her a smile that just screamed 'I know something you don't know.'

"What's up Yin?" Ethan asked, noticing her intrigue.

"Nothing," she brushed off.

"Okay then, we'll take you back to Bruce and the commissioner and then I'll get these filed," he concluded, putting an arm around my shoulder, to which I returned a fake smile. I didn't like people touching me, but it made things more convincing. I took Danny's hand and we all ended up walking out of the room.

When we got back to the commissioner and Bruce, they were shaking hands on a deal, probably to let us stay with him. Gordon immediately turned his attention to us with a smile. "It seems you two are going to have one nice place to stay," he said. "Mr. Wayne has offered to take you in."

I smiled, shook of Bennett's arm, and walked over to Bruce, putting my own arm around him. "Would it be inappropriate to call you dad?"

"Probably," he answered.

"Good, I'll never call you anything more," I said with a devious grin.

Ethan and Danny started busting up laughing, and Gordon was obviously trying to hold his composure as Bruce returned a slight smile and a silent laugh.

"Of course this does mean you two will have to go to school," Gordon said with a warning eye.

"I'm sure it can't be that hard," I said with a shrug and a smile to Danny. "Oh, pre-warning Commissioner, somebody's going to burst through that door in three seconds."

"What?"

"Hey Dad, I've got a- oh," Barbara started as she ran into the room. Her face flushed with embarrassment, but she wiped that from her face when she noticed we were there.

"Oh Barbara, perfect timing. Meet James and Kira," Gordon said.

"It's a pleasure meeting you Miss Gordon," I said with a smile and an intelligent eye, offering my hand to her.

"Of course, same for you," she said, taking my hand with a slight glare. Those super-types were so untrusting.

"Miss Blake and Mr. Fenton are going to be living with Mr. Wayne from now on. I was wondering if you could show the two around the hangouts you kids go to or whatever it is you do," Gordon said.

"Of course," she said through grinding teeth, "I'd love to. When would be a good time?"

"Well, these two don't really have much on the front of clothes so-" Bruce started.

"You had me at clothes," she said, grabbing Danny and me and dragging us out of the room.

"Anything but shopping!" Danny whined as Bruce and Gordon met each other at the doorway.

"They certainly have some personality. I think they'll get along just fine," I heard the commissioner say.

"I'm sure they won't have many problems at all," Bruce said. "Slow down Barbara."

"You better go enjoy your limo full of teenagers."

"Right, have a good day."

"See you later Bruce!" Ethan called as he finally started following us.

"New Dad, save me before she pulls my arm off," I whined before laughing hysterically as Barbara continued to pull on my arm towards the door.

"Is it even possible for you to be serious? There are clothes involved here!" Barbara said.

"You are such a girl!" I complained, making the majority of the cops standing around bust up with giggles.

"Aren't guys supposed to be exempt from shopping sprees?" Danny complained.

Ugh, after a long night, leave it to Barbara to make it a long day of boring and girly shopping.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys! Sorry it took me so long to come out with this. Things will probably move pretty slow until schools out in two weeks, you know, with exams and book reports and what have you. This is kind of a mix and match chapter, and some more action will come in the next one. This is just to stir up some concepts that may be important to the future of Kira and ol' Batsy. Anyways, enjoy!**

"How is it we go out to get the essentials for me and the newly named James and Barbara ends up having more bags than either of us?" I said, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Because you don't even understand the essentials! Here, these are for you," she said, offering out some gaudy flower print shoes.

"I'm never going to wear those," I said with a disgusted look.

"More for me then," she said with a shrug and a smile, throwing them in one of her bags.

"All… shopping aside, you two are going to need a pair of formal clothes each," Bruce said, giving Barbara a slightly annoyed look.

"Oh, I know just what to get. With those eyes, how about an emerald green dress?" she asked, staring at me intently.

"How about these eyes?" I said with a voice of annoyance as my eyes flashed red.

"Woah!" she said in alarm, jumping back. "What did I do?"

"Kira doesn't like looking pretty," Danny said with a smirk, nudging my arm to remind me to change my eyes back. "I guess you're a fashion expert, but can you find something other than a dress for our not so ladylike friend?"

"Woman's business suit or slacks?"

"Slacks," I said, pushing past her.

"Uh, Kira?" Danny asked.

"What?"

"Your head is steaming."

"Right," I said, sucking in a deep breath to chill out.

"We're going to have to work on that," Bruce said, putting his hand on my shoulder.

"Got it," I said, shrugging his hand off and walking past them.

"Kira," Danny said, rushing up to me, "what is up with you today? No offence, but your moods are changing more than…"

"A teenage girl's? I know. I think my power levels are trying to correct themselves after a night of total overload. I can feel the energy cooking inside of me, and it burns," I said, tightening my hand into a fist and trying to focus.

"Listen, I'm sure we'll figure this out, but you need to try to stay cool, literally."

And that pun earned him an annoyed look. "Let's just try to make this quick so I can get somewhere private and avoid the chance of bursting into flames in public."

"Uh, one more thing," Danny said, doing his nervous neck rub.

"What?"

"Did you notice those weird looks that Detective Yin was giving you?"

"Of course I did. She probably noticed a resemblance between me and Shadowrule. Good thing my costume comes with a mask now. People here aren't as stupid as some of them seemed in your dimension. They actually have critical thinking skills and facial recognition programmed into their brains," I answered. "We just have to be really careful not to give anything away. Now let's get this done and over with."

_Time Skip…_

"Kira, I think we need to talk. Meet me in the cave," Bruce said just as the doors to the manor closed behind us.

"Gotcha boss," I said, faking a salute and slipping down through the floor.

For the short few moments I waited on him, I took a gander at the little bat museum Alfred has set up, though Bruce would have called it "evidence." My focus was drawn to the giant Riddler hourglass from when Batman had to help Detective Yin solve the Riddler's clues to stop the city from "blowing up." I have to say, of all the ways to steal information, that has to be the most ridiculously elaborate. Why not just actually set off a bomb and hack the place while the emergency response and probably Bats were over investigating and quelling the panic? It seemed like at the exact moment I started to reach my fingers for the glass, the elevator doors opened.

"I think we may have to put down some ground rules about phasing in the house," Bruce joked with a slight smile.

"Yeah, kinda forget it's not normal to walk through walls," I said, forcing a small laugh.

"Now it seems like it is."

"Is that what this is about?"

"Partly. I want you to tell me about Plasmius."

"What do you want to know?"

"Anything… Everything."

"You know, it'd be easier to ask Danny," I said, leaning against the hourglass and crossing my arms.

"Actually, I don't think it would be. Danny said that ghost Ember was the second one you went to for help. Off of the way you so calmly talked about him, I have to guess he was the first one."

"You'd be right," I said, nodding my head. "He's dangerous. Pulls you in with the promise to the end of all your problems. I fell for his tricks, but he taught me a few on the way. He's a lonely guy. Went to college with Danny's parents Maddie and Jack, ended up falling in love with his mom. Had a freak accident when Jack poured diet cola instead of some stabilizer fluid or something into a prototype ghost portal they were working on. It blew up in his face, wrecking any chances he had with Maddie and making him into the very first half ghost."

"Then he made millions by possessing CEOs and other millionaires?"

"Yeah. Then a year or two ago, Danny popped up with these freaky powers too. Vlad figured out about it during an attempt to get rid of Jack. Needless to say, Vladdy boy wanted more. He even cloned Danny. I got pulled into all of this when, being the jerk that he is, he tried making a viewing window into the Ghost Zone. It messed up and ended up windowing into my dimension. Fueled additionally by a fuming argument in the Blake home, it turned portal, dragging me into their world. He said he could send me back."

"So you went to get his help."

"Well, after a fight with Danny I did."

"But he couldn't send you back."

"No, they were just pretty words in hopes that he wouldn't be alone forever. If the jerk would have just found a different woman for himself, none of this would have happened."

"If you didn't happen, what would have happened to him?"

"In about a year, he'd be mayor of Amity Park, trying to wreck Danny's life as a bad end to a prank. A bit later, he'd be stranded on an asteroid floatin' around in space… After trying to take over the world, of course."

"What can you tell me about how he acts?"

"Pathological liar, egotistical, talks down to everyone, all he cares about is staying ahead of everyone else. Oh, and even though he says he won't get a cat, if about three more months had passed in the correct timeline, he would have had one and named it Maddie."

"That's serious obsession."

"That's what I thought. When me and Danny were taking Joker back to Arkham, he confronted us. He acted like it was impossible for two kids to find a place to stay without him. I'd rather end up in a homeless center than go live with that freak again. He…"

"What?"

"He makes the fire burn hotter. He brings out an anger in me that I try to suppress."

"How do you normally hold it back?" he asked with concern.

"A thick layer of sarcasm and taking it out on ghosts or Danny. Or just push it under the surface and don't let any emotion show, but that's when I get the most manipulative, but I'm not sure that's what I want to do anymore. You know, when I first got these powers, I couldn't shoot a blast at Danny no matter how hard I tried, but when the fire starts flaring, I swear I could kill him."

"Could you shoot a blast at me?"

"Physically, yes. Morally, no."

"That sounds good enough for me. Are there any other ghosts I should be worried about?"

"Don't worry, I snatched Danny's hard drive on when we were packing. He's got all of the most notable badies on file. Unlike me, he'll always try to fight the bad guys with his fists first. I try to resolve it by tricking the enemy first. But nonetheless, he knows how to fight them and fight them good."

"Smart move."

"Thought it was better than restarting with nothing. Danny's never been one for thinking ahead. Except on that rare occasion where a crazy idea ends up working. I like those days."

"We'll have to work on getting those crazy ideas to work more often. It'll be dark soon. I know last night was kind of crazy, but do you want to go out on patrol with me and Robin? We still have to catch quite a few Arkham escapees."

"Penguin, Riddler, Clayface, Ragdoll, and even more. It's going to be a couple of long nights to come."

"I'm always up to knock some heads," I said, smacking a fist into my hand.

"Actually, if you can, try to tone down the powers. It'll give you an advantage later. Not to mention it'll keep you from scaring of civilians," he warned.

"Sounds easy enough. Just the basics and a little fire?"

"Just be mindful of flammable objects."

"I am a flammable object," I said with a laugh.

"I would say suit up but it wouldn't take you that long. Go up and get Danny and Dick. Oliver's going to be here in a couple of minutes to give you your bow back," he ordered.

"Awesome," I said with a smile.

"I take it you like Oliver," he said, walking toward the glass case with his suit in it.

"What gives you that idea?"

"The fact that your weapon of choice is a green bow you just so happened to let him borrow."

"Alright, I may be a total fangirl. But let's be honest, you and him are the coolest heroes. You can kick butt more than anyone else and you don't even need powers to do it."

"Powers have their perks too if you have them. Superman's been able to save me on at least one occasion."

"I'd rather I be like you. Powers suck," I said, flicking up two fireballs and spinning them around in circles.

"Looks like they seem to entertain you just fine," he said with a grin, walking into a walled off section for what I could only guess as to change his suit.

I split one clone and sent it to go get the boys, but I stayed put. "Once you've had your DNA laced through with ectoplasm and start burning every time you have a nightmare, you can tell me how entertaining it is. Besides, I'd give up it all to go home. I'm not made for this great adventure stuff. I may like to stir things up, but I don't like risk."

"But you go on as a hero. Why?"

"It just felt like the right thing to do. Besides, it made Danny find me more trustworthy."

"I can't believe that was the only reason," he said, stepping out in full suit.

"When I got my powers and had to learn to control it all, it just made sense to use ghosts as target practice. Pure logic."

"That seems more fitting. So what do you fight for now?"

"To fix the problems I caused. It just doesn't sit right with me that Danny could have had a hero's future had I stayed out of it."

"What should have happened to him?"

"Saved the world, beat Vlad, revealed his identity, and finally got a girlfriend. The entire world loved him. There were Danny Phantom statues in every major city. Or, there would be. I'm afraid my intrusion ruined his life and mine, I just don't know my own ending."

"And I suppose you know my ending too."

"Well, I think we're past the ending of your televised show, but I know how you're supposed to die. Don't worry. I won't tell you."

"Thanks for that."

"Hey Batman, are you home? Or cave or whatever?" I heard Arrow's voice call from the bottom level.

"Yeah, we're coming down now," Bruce called, walking towards a pole and waving for me to follow.

I nodded, and after he went down, I followed suit.

"Wow, a kid in the Batcave? What's going on?" Arrow asked Bats.

"I believe we've met before Mr. Queen. You're here to return my bow?" I said politely, holding out my hand.

"Your bow? But you're not a-"

"Ghost?" I finished as my eyes flashed a bright green. "Kira Blake, Bruce's halfa ward of the week. Don't worry, I'm as human as you- mostly."

"Woah! Put me down!" Dick whined as he and Danny phased through the floor.

"You said you wanted to get down here quicker," Danny defended.

"Put me down!"

"Alright," Danny said, dropping him about three feet from the floor onto his back.

"You ghostly annoyance!" Dick argued, jumping up at Danny who which just went intangible.

"Boys, knock it off," Bruce ordered.

"But he started it!" Dick complained.

"Dick, go get dressed."

"Fine," he answered in an overly dramatic voice.

"Yo D, come on over here," I called out to Danny.

"Coming," he said, floating over and landing gracefully next to me. "I take it you all know each other and this is one of those cases where I'm not supposed to know anyone."

"Oliver, this is… probably James Fenton," Bruce said.

"Does he have a twin or something?" Oliver asked.

"No, he's just legally James and actually Danny. For the sake of keeping things easy, you should call him James," I said with a smile. "D, this is Oliver Queen AKA Green Arrow, other millionaire that wanted to be a super hero."

"What is up with rich guys and doing weird things with their money?" Danny questioned.

"Nothing better to do with their time than take over the world or stop people from taking over the world?" I suggested.

"Alright, we need to get moving. If we go now we should be able to catch three or four of them. Then of course there's Bane…" Bruce started.

"Ghosts have enhanced strength. We may not be as strong as Superman- which I kind of want to arm wrestle- but we can probably fight the 'roided out jerk no problem," I offered.

"Alright, get in the car," he said, flicking up his cowl.

I looked over at the platform the Batmobile was sitting on. Upon feeling a strange sense of anxiety, I crinkled my eyebrows. "If it's all the same to you, I'd rather fly," I said.

"What's wrong?" Danny asked.

"After being trapped in my own mind," I said, letting rings of fire transform me, "I'm not too fond of tight spaces."

"What?" Oliver and Bruce asked at the same time.

"Don't ask," Danny said.

"Yeah, there was a guy in a hot girl's body hitting on him," I said with the most devilish grin I could muster.

"Sometimes I hate you."

"I know."


	9. Chapter 9

**Some day soon one of Shadowrule's crazy plans is going to backfire on her, but for now, let the sidekicks have some fun. Everybody enjoy, and leave a comment to support the story and input new ideas. Writer's block is a creators greatest enemy.**

"Reports are coming in on the Batwave of a Penguin sighting heading toward the museum. Go ahead of us and scout out. Do not engage," Batman ordered through a communicator he gave me. It fit a lot better than the Fenton phones. It was a lot more compact too.

"Gotcha boss," I said in my typical mock tone. "Catch you slow-pokes when you get there."

I twisted my flight to go straight up and got a good view of the city. It didn't take me long to see the museum. I burst towards it using my fire to increase my speed. When I got there, I phased my head through the roof to check it out. Sure enough, Penguin was standing in the middle of the room, trying to steal something bird themed.

I pulled my head back out and asked, "Does talking fall under the category of don't engage? I make a great distraction."

"If I told you not to would you do it anyway?" Batman asked in a tired voice.

"Uh… no?"

"You're a bad liar. Just be careful. We'll be there in four minutes. Call if you need help," he instructed.

"Gotcha Big B," I responded before dropping through the floor/roof.

When I hit ground, I was dead silent. I didn't make a noise until I found the most theatrical position leaning against a pole with full view of Penguin and his Kabuki twins.

"What'cha doin'?" I asked with folded arms.

Upon speaking those two words, I had the Edward Scissor-hands rip-offs at my throat. "Look what we have here," Penguin said, turning around.

"Hi, not the warmest of welcomes," I said uncomfortably before phasing through their blades. I turned back to face them with an unsettled feeling as I looked into their masks. They held a look of unshakable surprise that gave me the creeps.

"I see, you're one of those ghosts. I thought the heroes collected all of your kind last night. How did you avoid those do-gooders?" he asked, turning my attention back to him.

"Simple, I chose to lay low. Name's Shadowrule. You should really get your friends some happier faces."

He barked an obnoxious laughter that reminded me of a seagull that never shuts up. "You're funny ghost kid, but what's up with the mask?"

"Sadly the other ghosts don't share my sense of humor. I can manipulate my form to hide myself from them, though they will always sense I'm near as I will them," I said. "So what scheme do you got going on?"

"What do you mean scheme?" he questioned with a bit of resentment.

"You're in a museum in the dead of the night, that's bound to mean you're up to no good," I said, hinting to the statue he was trying to grab just moments ago with a nod of the head. "Were you going for cash or a personal collection?" I asked, stepping closer to look at the statue.

"And why should I tell you?"

"Before I… before I became a ghost, I was a pretty good thief for my age," I lied. "If I were going for the whole bird motif I'd keep it."

"How do you know I have a bird motif? Your kind just fell out of the sky yesterday."

"Well, that little figure over there's incrusted with diamonds. Prob'ly worth ten times as much as this little trinket," I said, pointing at another statue.

"Why are you so concerned?" he asked with suspicion.

"Oh, I'm not. I'm just here as a distraction. Batman's gonna get here and kick your birdie butt in about thirty seconds," I said, still not finding the need to face him.

"What?"

"Did I mention I'm a master liar, and a super hero for that matter? Those 'do-gooders' couldn't catch me because I was helping Batsy boy," I said, turning around and letting a thin ring form into my bow. Before the bird brain knew it, I'd shot him with a shield empowered arrow. The bubble formed around him, trapping him until I so chose to disperse it.

The Kabuki Twins were just getting to a defensive position when Robin and Danny flew into the room. Danny stayed back as Batman entered and Robin jumped for one of girls (I think). I was smart enough to realize Robin was about to get sliced to bits, and with a shout from Batman, I was sure of it. On instinct I twisted the dial on my bow and aimed straight for him. The arrow sailed across the room and it attached itself to Robin, it's power taking full affect as their blades passed right through him without so much as a scratch.

"Cool!" he shouted and I heard a quick breath of relief from Batman before he jumped to help his young sidekick out of a mess.

"Didn't know you could do that," Danny said as he landed next to me, making note of both Robin and the bubble that had formed around Penguin.

"Well, neither did I, at least with Robin's anyway. I tested out the shield a while ago."

"So you just shot an arrow at our new brother with no idea if it'd kill him or not?"

"I trusted it wouldn't."

"Hey Bats, I thought you were better than to teach your sidekicks to be liars," Penguin sneered loud enough for everyone to hear. The twins had escaped and Batman was walking over to us, but I didn't give him the time to do anything more.

"I am _not _a sidekick!" I shouted, flaming over with red hot fire.

"Hey hey, I'm just saying what I see," Penguin whimpered, curling up into the farthest corner of the bubble.

"Watch yourself bird brain, that shield's flammable," I threatened.

"Shadowrule, calm down," Bats ordered, more than a little pissed.

Still burning, I went over and reached up towards Penguin. He quivered in fear, but the moment my hand touched the shield, it disintegrated and he fell the the ground. "Remember Cobblepot, being a sidekick means you're weak, and I'm a lot more powerful than you." With that, I started stepping away, making an ice ball in my hand to put out the flames with. "I'm sorry for my hot temper," I said as I walked past Batman.

"Woah," Robin said as he started walking at my pace, along with Danny. While Bats was cuffing Penguin, the children walked alone.

"I'm sorry Danny, I didn't mean to freak out like that," I said quietly.

"What's to be sorry for? That was awesome!" Robin said with way too much excitement.

"It's really not," I said. "It never feels like fun afterwards."

"Do you want some ice?" Danny asked.

"If you would please."

His eyes flashed a light blue and frozen air started making contact with my body. Soon all the flames were out. "Better?"

"Yeah, thanks D. Robin, you're lucky you don't have to deal with powers. When I go unhinged, I go unhinged," I said, jumping up and eventually floating as if I was lying on my back in a pool of water.

"But you can fly!" he whined.

"I wonder if I could give you a few minutes of flight," I said, biting my thumbnail through my glove.

"I don't want you to carry me," he said.

"No, if I understand how overshadowing works, I might be able to manipulate it to let you fly a bit, under your own control of course."

"You can do that?" Danny questioned.

"Well hypothetically, if I overshadow him, he could keep control over his mind and body, the question is whether the powers will still transfer," I thought over. "But I really don't want to feel trapped. Maybe I could disassociate a clone with myself."

"Sounds awesome, do it!" Robin said with excitement.

"Alright," I said, splitting off a clone that was purely a physical entity, not a thinking one. It overshadowed Robin at the moment my feet touched the ground in front of him. "Are you still Robin?"

"Well duh," he said.

"Alright. Kick off the ground and think of the trapeze," I said, backing away from him.

"Is it normal for me to hear your voice in my brain?"

"Is it saying the exact same thing as me?"

"Yeah."

"It's probably just echoing. Now try to fly bird boy."

After taking a moment to close his eyes, he jumped. Like magic, he started flying. "That's so cool," Danny said, floating up to him.

"Hey Batman, look at what I can do!" Robin shouted, doing a flip.

"Why is Robin flying?" Bats questioned.

"Because once again my high IQ figured out something useless I can do with powers," I said, flying up to Robin.

"How long can you do that for?" Batman asked.

"You know, I'm not sure. Let's go catch more bad guys and figure it out," I said as the police started showing up.

"Wait, so I can fly through walls right?" Robin asked, flying right into the ceiling before I could stop him.

"You have to know how to do that first," I said, wincing at Robin's pain and that of my own copy's. "Are you alright?"

"Uh, I've felt worse," he said, rubbing his head. "Hey Batman, can I fly out on patrol with Shadow?"

"I don't think that's such a good idea," he replied.

"Aw come on Big B, some bonding time with me and the bird could do some good. Besides, I know you'd love some time with Phantom. So," I said as I flew up and grabbed Robin's hand, "see-you-later-new-daddy, love-you. Bye!" And after rushing out those words, I made Robin and I go intangible and flew through the ceiling.

"You are so dead," Robin said, looking back at the museum.

"Oh totally, but I wouldn't be able to have fun with my new little brother if I didn't ditch the Bat," I said, smiling at him. "Wanna go search for harder enemies while those two have a bonding moment?"

"I don't know," he said, rubbing his neck.

"Come on, guys like Penguin are too easy for me. Besides, if we get in too over our heads, we'll call Batman."

"Alright, but let's not do anything too stupid. I mean, Batman hasn't trained you yet."

"Boy Wonder, I haven't had his training for the past few months and I think I've survived just fine, at least since I started figuring out how being a ghost works. Follow me!"


	10. Chapter 10

**Oh, things are gonna get nuts today. Finally, one of Kira's ingenious plans is backfiring on her. Hope you all enjoy the new enemy :P**

"Wahoo!" Robin shouted, doing every trick he could think of.

"Haha, you're awesome Robin," I called to him, flying with my back towards the ground. "I was afraid old B had taught you to forget what fun was."

"He's not always that serious," he defended, floating a flat plane above me.

"Really?"

"Okay, he is, but that's just what he's like."

"This country girl's gonna make the Batman have some real fun," I declared, flying around Robin in a horizontal tornado twist.

"Or some real irritation," he said with a laugh.

"Eh, that's just the first stage of fun," I said with a laugh. "Back home I used to drive people nuts, but the day always ended with laughter."

"What was it like?"

"What do you mean?"

"A world without super heroes?"

"It was normal," I said with a shrug. "Believe me, when I got powers, I was kind of freaking out. Well, not kind of. I was actually freaking out, and I didn't have any clue what to do when I couldn't stop ecto-beams from coming out of my hands."

"Woah, did you hit anything?"

"Danny."

"That explains some things."

"I was scared, he understood," I said. My eyes widened as I realized the glow of my eyes had gone out. "That's odd."

"Uh, Shadow?" Robin asked, getting me to look up at him and see he was struggling to stay stable.

In a moment, I felt a huge loss of energy as a burst of it came out from Robin, temporarily blinding me. My ghost sense went off, and when I regained my sight, the first thing I saw was Robin falling. I sped after him at top speed and didn't slow down until I had him in my arms. "Hey bird boy, you alright?" I asked with fear as I saw his closed eyes. He didn't respond so I put my ear down to his chest. "Just unconscious," I sighed. "Oh, Batman's gonna be so pissed."

"Of course he is, he's always pissed."

I looked up in surprise seeing my duplicate floating overhead, but it looked strange. It was using full red energy and its colour scheme seemed to be reversed with a red shirt and black jacket and hair. I never let my duplicates have that much power. "Weird," I said to myself. Then I tried to reabsorb it, but it wasn't working. "Return you stupid copy."

"I think you're the stupid copy," she said, charging energy in her hand before shooting a massive ectoblast at Robin and me.

I made a shield, but it just blasted right through, knocking us in a painful spiral to the ground. I stabilized us just in time so that I could break Robin's fall, taking the entire impact for myself. I turned on the communication device in my ear and groaned, "Bats, Danny, we're in trouble."

"What's wrong?" Batman asked.

"One of my brilliant ideas finally went wrong. My duplicate-"

A thin shot of ecto-energy hit into my ear, destroying the small ear piece. "Wouldn't want old Batsy and little D knowing what they're coming into," the duplicate said.

"How the hell are you doing this? Duplicates aren't supposed to be able to hurt me," I said, standing up and setting Robin gently on the ground.

"Eh, call me the evil twin your stupidity created. You should have always known you'd cause more problems than good," she said, holding her position overhead.

"Don't you dare say that," I said, charging energy in my hands.

"Last time I checked, I have the high ground, and you don't like unnecessary conflict."

"Then neither do you," I said, aiming my hand at her.

"Ooh, skipping the bow. You must think I'm powerful," she mocked. "But you wouldn't risk Robin getting hurt. He reminds you a lot of what you used to be like doesn't he? Back in the days when you were fun and nobody knew your secret."

"Shut your dirty mouth!" I shouted, making my hair burn up in flames as I shot a ball of fire at her.

"Aw, little boo's angry," she said, shielding from the attack.

"Shut up!" I yelled, flying right up at her as I burst into white hot flames.

"Come on, get me," she said, charging her hands.

The moment I reached her, she grabbed me and a shock rippled through my body. I let out a blood curdling scream as my fire went out. "You may be too much of a softy to use the ghost stinger, but I'm not. Oh look, here comes Batsy. Gotta go boo," she said before throwing me right at the Batmobile.

I saw Bats try to swerve as I came at him face first, but he didn't have the time to get out of my path of travel. I came crashing down on the Batmobile in not the most pleasant of falls with an arm out to protect my face. As I laid on a partially dented spot, Danny phased out of the car and the roof slid back, letting Batman get out.

"What happened?" Bats questioned.

"I guess my biggest match could only be myself," I groaned as I watched the dark version of me fly away.

"Who is that?" Danny questioned as he saw the ever shrinking duplicate.

"It was me," I said quietly.

"Come on Shadow, you're hurt," Danny said, trying to pick me up, but when I started to move, pain shot through my arm. I clenched my teeth and grabbed at it with my good arm.

"I think my arm's broken," I said.

"Where's Robin?" Batman asked.

"Over there," I said with a nod of the head in his direction.

"Alright. Danny, carefully take her to the Batcave. Alfred has medical training. I'll catch up."

"Got it," Danny said, slowly picking me up with great care for my arm. He started flying up slowly.

"Given ghost powers, how long will it take for a broken arm to heal?" I asked.

"I don't know, a week or two?"

"Sounds like it's gonna suck."

"How did you get beat by a duplicate?"

"She made me angry," I said simply.

"What she do?"

"She called me boo," I said reluctantly.

"Why?"

"That's what all the kids back home used to call me because they thought I was paranoid. I always hated it. How on earth do you beat yourself?"

"It's definitely a lot harder than beating someone else. But I'll help you," he said. "Maybe Bats can help you too."

"She can bust my shields, and God help us if she can still take human form. How would Batman be able to help?"

"I don't know. He's rich isn't he? Maybe he can use some cash to make better anti-ghost weapons."

"I don't even think your parents' best weapons could beat me. With how little time this dimension's had, I doubt they could make anything powerful enough in good time."

"I'm sure we'll figure it out. The good guys always win remember?" he said with a smile.

"You're so cute when you're ignorant. No wonder the most perfect girl in the world has a crush on you. Maybe she'll finally fess up when you get home."

"What?"

"Clueless," I chimed before letting out a laugh.

"Why don't you just tell me who it is?"

"Because then it wouldn't be funny, and laughter is the best medicine," I said with a smile.

"What kind of weird stuff do they teach you in Iowa?" he said with a laugh of his own.

"The same stuff I figured they'd teach you city-slickers. Thanks Danny. You really are one of the sweetest brothers a girl could have."

"I was dreaming about Jazz last night," he revealed.

"It's only normal D. Giving up home's really hard."

"She needed me, and I wasn't there to help her."

"Danielle's there. Besides, all the biggest badies are here for us to stop anyway. There's nothing to worry about. But I'm going to miss them too. I think your parents were even better than mine ever were, besides the whole 'rip the apart molecule by molecule' thing."

"I'm just going to take that as their way of saying we're worthy enough to be a threat," he said with less of a smile.

"Might want to go invisible now. We're getting too close to the manor."

"Right," he said, letting his power spread through the both of us. "I think this dimension's weirder than mine."

"And it's definitely weirder than mine."

"Who would have ever thought that you could have evil clowns and crazy ladies with knives for fingers and some weird guy with a bird obsession all in one town?"

"Who would have ever thought that a punk rock ghost, some lady that feeds off of the negativity of kids, and a half ghost half human hybrid would all live in the same town?"

"Okay, you make a point," he said as we phased into the cave.

"It's a good thing my arm's gone numb, or else I would probably have passed out by now."

"Let's be happy for that," he muttered as he sat me down on a table in the observation area of the cave. "I'll go buzz for Alfred."

"You're taking to this whole rich boy life pretty well," I joked.

"Shut up," he said as he pressed a button on the bat computer. "Alfred, we need some assistance down in the cave."

"On my way Master Daniel," Alfred responded.

"It's Danny, and you don't have to say the whole 'master' thing. It creeps me out."

"Same," I called from my end.

"Yes sir," Alfred said with a hint of laughter.

"Uh, D? I think my adrenaline's wearing out," I said as pain started spreading through my arm again.

"Uh, I'll search for some pain killers Alfred can give you when he gets down here," Danny said, walking over and searching through a metal drawer. "It might be easier for him if you change back."

"Of course," I said, letting rings of fire spread out from my waist. "I've cause a mess, haven't I?"

"No more of a mess than we've had to deal with before," he said.

"You heard what Clockwork said, I'll be just as powerful as Pariah Dark, that means she will be too, and you were barely supposed to be able to beat him. That nearly killed you."

"But this time we have double the power, remember? You and me. Do you know what any of this is?" he asked, still digging through the drawers.

"So much for the Fentons being a family of geniuses."

"How about ami-amitriptyline?"

"That's an anti-depressant or anti-chronic pain medication. That wouldn't do anything."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I used to be on it. Just let Alfred handle it."

"Alright, but I don't see why Batman has that," he said, sitting down. "Sometimes I think you've been through everything."

"Yeah, like chronic stomach pain. It's really not that big of a story," I said through clenched teeth.

"You really are surprising."

"My parents wouldn't let me use conventional anti-depressants because of risk of suicidal thoughts. That was the one exception. My life wasn't always so bad, just in the last few months before I got to your dimension."

"Why?"

"Some stuff happened," I evaded as Alfred came out of the elevator.

"What's the problem?"

"Oh, I just broke my arm," I said with pain in my voice. "Dick's unconscious. Bruce will bring him in soon."

"Oh dear," he said, rushing over to me. "I'm going to have to set the bone. Master Bruce doesn't have much in the way of anesthetics."

"That's alright. Got somethin' to bite down on?"

"You have got to be joking," Danny said.

"Another thing they don't teach you city slickers, no pain, no game. Got to go with what we've got," I said. "Danny, hold down my good arm."

"Why?"

"I'd rather not break Alfred in the process of fixing me."

"You can't honestly let her go through with this," Danny said, turning to Alfred.

"I've learned there's not much use in arguing with the arrogant," Alfred said, grabbing a piece of cloth.

"Aw, you do love me," I said with a slight laugh. "Just like ol' Brucey."

Alfred handed me the cloth and I stuck it between my teeth before reaching my good arm out to Danny. "You're crazy," he muttered, taking my hand and holding it behind my back with his super strength.

Alfred quickly felt for the bone in my arm, grabbed, and then did one quick, painful adjustment that made me clench my eyes shut and bite my teeth down hard on the cloth. When it all was over, I was breathing hard and some quick tears fell from my eyes. Spitting out the rag, I looked at the wrapping job Alfred was doing. "See, it wasn't so bad," I said between breaths.

"I think you're more insane than that fruit cake Joker guy we dropped in the asylum the other night," Danny said.

"Don't be such a girl Fenton," I said, wiping the wetness from my face. "Thanks Al."

"My pleasure Miss Blake."

"Oh please, that makes me sound like my mom. It's just Kira. I think my daddy'd be proud of me."

"And why might that be?" he asked.

"'Cause he always said you ain't a Blake 'till you deal with pain like a boss."

"Do you always turn into a redneck when you talk about your dad?" Danny asked.

"Yep, he's the one I got it from. The bad offspring of a small town redneck and a southern girl. Sorry my parents weren't educated scientists."

"I thought your dad was a police officer."

"Oh, he is. Best thing he could think of other than joining the army that'd help his beloved country."

"Why didn't he join the army?" Alfred asked.

"He had a new wife that wanted kids, and she wasn't very happy with the idea of him being sent off to war. I'm sure you can understand."

"I respect his decision," Alfred said, plastering my arm.

The noise of a powerful engine started echoing through the cave. Bruce was finally home. He jumped out of the car with Dick in arms as the roof slid open. "I hope that buffs out," he said as he looked at the dent in the roof.

"Welcome home Master Bruce. I've taken the liberty of setting Kira's injury," Alfred greeted, sending me a wink.

"And she had no problem with going without any pain killers?" Bruce asked with astonishment.

"I took it like a boss Big B," I called to him with pain edging at the back of my voice. "Apparently I have a high pain threshold."

"Alright then," he said, sliding up the pole and coming over to set Dick next to me.

"Hey little brother. When're you gonna wake up?" I asked quietly, taking his mask off of his face with my good arm.

"I think he's out for the night," Bruce said, pulling down his own mask.

"I guess our bonding time really didn't pan out. I didn't even think it was possible that a duplicate could individualize. It's not supposed to be possible," I said, still questioning the whole possibility of the situation.

"Well it did happen. We don't know how, but this copy has to be stopped."

"Hate to tell you this, but that thing just broke _my _arm. How could you stand a chance?"

"There's more than just us."

"She could phase through Superman, burn a city to keep Martian away, and invisibly beat the crap out of anyone else. Not even Danny can stand up against me."

"We'll worry about it in the morning. I think you kids need to take the rest of the night off."

"I can still help," Danny argued.

"D, you can't argue with the man, he won't back down. Besides, I could use some sleep not caused by unconsciousness," I said.

"We'll talk about getting you enrolled in school tomorrow. Once Alfred finishes up, I want you two to go to bed," Bruce ordered.

"Gotcha boss," I said with a thumbs up.

"Fine," Danny agreed reluctantly.

Bruce nodded once and then turned back to the Batmobile, pulling up his cowl.

"Happy huntings Bruce," I said as he jumped into the car, "and be careful."

"If I was careful, I wouldn't be Batman," he said with a slight smirk as the roof slid shut and he sped off.

"Boom-town, I just got Batman to smile."


	11. Chapter 11

**I am loving the well thought out responses. You guys give me all kinds of things to think about with your observations. But anyway, enjoy the little breakfast match-up with my favorite bad guy!**

"Come on boo, you know you've been matched," the dark Shadowrule said.

"Leave Danny alone!" I ordered, charging up my hand.

"Why do you care about him? He's not Braden. Hell, he's not even real. This is all just a fantasy. Nobody could ever really love you."

"Shut up!"

"You're too weak to stop me. Or have you forgotten?" she said, smiling down at my arm.

"What ever happened to country etiquette? Never hittin' a girl when she's down?"

"You never believed in those rules. All you ever cared about was making the smartest choices, not the nicest ones. Be honest with yourself boo, there's no way you can stop me without fighting dirty."

"Batman will help."

"Please, another member of a fantasy. I'll show you what I can do to your hero," she said as one of her own duplicates flew into view with Batman in her arms. She threw him down on the ground, and he just rolled to my feet.

His eyes were closed. I put my ear down to his chest, but I didn't hear anything. I froze in utter shock.

"Everyone you've ever cared about will die by my hand, but I guess that's really yours so you get the point. It's all your fault," she said.

"No no no, that's not possible. Batman can't die," I said as a calm flame started encasing my body.

"Can and has boo. Enjoy a life of misery."

"Kira?"

I was shocked as Bruce's lips started moving.

"Kira, wake up. Wake up, you're on fire," he ordered, rising up and shaking me. "Wake up!"

That was when my eyes shot open to see my bed engulfed in flames. I quickly rolled off as Danny spread a layer of ice over the entire thing to put it out. I realized I was drenched in sweat and my eyes were leaking tears. "Sorry," I said weakly as the fire was completely put out.

"What happened?" Bruce questioned.

"She… she killed you," I said, lowering my head as more tears fell to the floor. "I couldn't stop her."

"It's okay," he said, stepping closer to me and putting a hand on my shoulder.

"I created a monster," I said, putting my hand over my eyes.

"We'll stop her," he said, gripping his hand. "I'm fine, Danny's fine, Dick will be fine."

"I'm sorry Bruce," I said, rushing at him and wrapping my one arm around him in a hug.

He seemed confused at first, but he eventually pressed one hand against my back in a slight attempt to comfort me. "It was just a dream, but I think I'm going to need to talk to Lucius about a fireproof bed."

"None of this was ever supposed to happen."

"It's almost morning. Why don't we just get ready for breakfast?" he suggested.

"Right, breakfast. I better shower. I smell like a barbeque," I said, choking out a laugh through my tears as I let go of Bruce.

"We're going to be fine Kira," Danny said, putting an arm around my shoulder. "Let me walk you to the bathroom."

I nodded and we both left the room, leaving Bruce to wonder what the hell to do about the smoke damage. "Has Dick woke up yet?" I asked as we got out of earshot.

"He woke up at about three. Bruce had him just go back to sleep. He's got a few bruises, but he'll be okay," Danny answered.

"Thanks D."

"Don't mention it. See you at breakfast," he said as we walked in front of the bathroom door.

"Yeah, see you," I said, opening the door and walking inside. I smiled when I saw a set of clothes already laid out for me. Alfred really did think of everything.

After closing the door, I undressed and turned on the shower. I found that Alfred had left some plastic for me to wrap my cast in, so I quickly wrapped my arm. After the temperature was acceptable, I stepped inside. I swear that thing had more buttons than an industrial computer. Driven by some inner feeling, I started singing a song that one of my old friends used to make me listen to over and over again when I hung out with her.

"When I was a young boy, my father took me into the city to see the marching band. He said, 'Son when you grow up, would you be the savior of the broken, the beaten, and the damned.' He said, 'Will you defeat them, your demons, and all the non-believers, the plans that they have made. Because one day, I'll leave you, a phantom to lead you in the summer, to join the Black Parade…' Ain't that my life? Too bad I don't have a phantom that could lead me to my destiny."

What were my demons? That dark Shadowrule was going to exploit them all if she could, but shouldn't my demons be hers too? How could she exploit me without exploiting herself?

After a quick shampoo and a lot of thinking, I finished off with soap and then got out, drying myself off, putting my clothes on, and wrapping my hair with a towel. After I was sure my hair wouldn't drip, I took the towel off and let my hair light on fire to insta-dry. Once I was satisfied, I let the fire go out and walked out of the bathroom.

I walked downstairs. I could already smell Alfred making breakfast. Bacon… I think I'm obsessed. I went in to the kitchen and greeted him just as he was putting some eggs on the stove.

"Good morning Kira," he greeted, turning his attention to me only for a moment before turning back to the food he was preparing. "How did you sleep?"

"Like hell. You?"

"Oh, quite well actually. I guess I was comforted by the two super heroes sleeping under the same roof as me," he said with a slight smile.

"You're awesome Al," I said with a smile, "but I'm afraid last night all I did was turn a bed into charcoal."

"Yes, Master Bruce told me all about it. Just remember that you'll always be safe here."

We heard a knock on the door and I said, "Don't worry Al, I'll get it."

I walked out of the kitchen and started a quick trot as I started to get close to the door. When I opened the door, I immediately slammed it shut.

"Kira, why did you do that?" Bruce asked as he walked down the stairs.

"Uh, there's someone that's not very nice behind the door."

"Who is it?" he asked as he reached the bottom of the stair case.

"Um-"

The knocking started again. I bit my bottom lip as I opened the door to reveal the man standing on the other side.

"Good morning little badger," he greeted.

"Mornin' fruit-loop," I responded, sending a glance to Bruce, who seemed to understand.

"Now is that any way to talk to your Uncle Vlad?" he said, inviting himself in and grabbing an arm around my shoulder. I felt uncomfortable and Bruce looked pissed.

"Excuse me, but you are?" Bruce asked with narrowed eyes.

"Oh, I must apologize. My name's Vlad Masters, freshest entrepreneur in the city. I see you've met my niece?"

"Back off!" I ordered, blasting out a shield in his direction to knock him back.

"Ooh, so he does know your secret. Tell me, do you go around telling everyone now?"

"Get out of here sleaze-ball," I ordered, my eyes flashing red.

"Oh, the scary eyes are back. What are you going to do? Knock me through a wall?" Vlad taunted.

"No, she's not, but I'm going to ask you kindly to leave," Bruce said, gently taking my shoulder.

"I have to ask, how did you break that arm? Did it happen to be an evil clone?"

"You stalking me again Plasmius?" I questioned, putting my hand in my pocket with a lack of anything else to do with it.

"So you told him my secret too! Now I have to wonder why. Is it because Bruce Wayne happens to be _the _Batman?"

Bruce's eyes widened slightly in surprise, but other than that, he showed no other reaction. "How did you find out?" Bruce asked emotionlessly.

"Do you think me an idiot? I've had a duplicate searching the property for an hour. Your ghost sense must have gone off while you were sleeping. Oh, and congratulations on your first night accident as a ghost. I'm surprised you didn't burn down the entire building. And really, a bat in a cave? That's just too predictable."

"If you don't like my house, get out," I ordered. "Don't make me take this outside."

"Yes, outside to the waiting news cameras."

"What?"

"Come on Kira, you didn't really expect me to come in here without a backup plan did you? They're here to get the story of a brand new business man that seemed to sprout out of nowhere, trying to make a deal with Wayne Industries CEO Bruce Wayne. I must say, I put the 'pro' in 'quid-pro-quo,' not that you'd know what that means Kira."

"Quid-pro-quo, the giving of something in return for something else. You're really gonna go for the stereotypical revenge scheme Vlady? So predictable," I said with a smirk. "Now how about you get out before I call Danny in to help you realize your mistake while I run out screaming about a madman that came into our house and tried to attack us?"

"My, turning the tables; you are getting better at this. I guess I'll just walk out and tell them you rejected my offer, but remember, I know your secrets."

"And we know yours. You aren't going to be liquidating assets when you're trapped in the Ghost Zone because everyone on Earth wants you gone," I said as he started opening the door. "And Vlad?"

"Yes?" he said with a dark smirk as he turned around again.

"You better keep your nose clean in this whole duplicate business. If I find out you had anything to do with it, I will obliterate you."

"I would expect nothing less," he sneered before walking out of the door.

"I really hate that guy," I said once he was gone.

"So do I," Bruce said with a hint of anger.

"Don't worry, he's known about Danny's powers since about a month after he got them, and he hasn't given it away yet. He's too afraid of ruining his own reputation. Kind of a weakness he has."

"Any other weakness?"

"Ecto-acne?"

"Now you're just making things up."

"Actually, that's legit," I said. "It's really gross and deadly. Good thing me and Danny don't get it. It's like a nasty herpes of the face."

"That sounds disgusting."

"Yep. You think breakfast's ready?"

"You… are a very strange kid."

"Yup, but now I'm your strange kid," I said with a smile.


	12. Chapter 12

**Teenagers will be teenagers, even super powered ones. Roll in a day of acting like idiots and you have all the ingredients you need to have fun. Hope you all enjoy this sort of out of character chapter. Remember to comment, and if you like it, favorite the story and stay updated.**

"You'll be required to take a placement exam-"

"Which I'll have to get a mediocre score on to prove I'm a street rat."

"You'll be shown around by the class president-"

"Which I probably won't like."

"How can you be so negative? This is one of the best schools in the country," Bruce argued.

"Best equals most boring and full of stuck up people; not goth kids and definitely not emo kids. I'll be alone as one of my kind!" I said, faking death by grabbing at my heart and sliding off the side of my chair.

"Someone's a little over dramatic today," Danny said, looking at me with bored eyes.

"Oh come on _James_, you know you're going to hate it too."

"And I'm going to have to get used to that name without thinking I'm in trouble for something."

"Added on, I kind of have a broken arm that's healing at an incredibly fast rate. What's gonna happen when I get to take off a cast I've only worn for a week?"

"You'll have to fake the injury for at least three months," Bruce said.

"But that would mean I can't kick major teenage butt for three months!"

"You don't need to be kicking anything. It's a school, not a fighting rink."

"And the difference is?"

"You're going to be a problem child, aren't you?"

"Yes sir."

"Wait, this pamphlet says the high school has uniforms," Danny said with disgust.

"Great, they're trying to destroy my people!" I whined.

"It won't be that bad. I wore a uniform all the way through school and I turned out fine," Bruce said.

"All fancy dress and no play made Brucey a very dull boy," I said, narrowing my eyes. "And I don't think you're really the best definition of normal."

"She's got a point," Danny said. "Why can't we just go to a normal school like normal teenagers?"

"Because Dick goes there anyway so you might as well all go to the same school," Bruce said.

"Ugh, I hate logic when it comes out of you. Besides, should we really be worrying about this right now?" I asked with frustration.

"You still can't get her out of your head, can you?" Danny asked, standing up to come over next to me.

"You've got me pegged D," I sulked. "Is this whole school situation really all that important?"

"Yes, it is," Bruce said.

"Do you really need the two of us here? It seems like you know what's going on, so why don't Kira and I go check out the city and I'm sure we'll figure out the rest as we go along?" Danny suggested.

"Yeah, Danny's never been real study-smart anyway," I added, earning a punch in the good arm.

"I assume by 'check out the city' you're actually going to go on a joy flight over Gotham?" Bruce asked.

"Would you expect any less?" I asked.

"I'm starting to learn that I shouldn't. Go ahead, I can handle this from here. Make sure you stay invisible until you're both in the city. I don't need you two blowing our hiding spot," he agreed reluctantly and with a sigh.

"You have our word B," I said before changing form and laughing as Danny said, "I'm going ghost!"

"Why is that so funny?" Danny questioned.

"It's the most nerdy battle cry ever," I laughed before turning intangible and flying through the roof.

Once we had flown a fare distance away, I turned to where I suspected Danny was and asked, "So, you enjoying having a rich super hero for an adopted daddy?"

"I don't know," he said, letting his eyes glow visibly. "I guess it just bugs me that you seem to know everything about this place and I don't."

"How do you think I felt in your dimension? Everything I figured out about you was from catching parts of episodes. I never really sat down and watched it unless it seemed mega-awesome. Besides, a lot of the comic books and stuff from your dimension had parodies of this one."

"Really?"

"Definitely. I mean, Vlad is literally a mix of Dracula and Lex Luther, Superman's biggest enemy. Cujo is like a dog version of Bane. Catwoman's got that same kind of swagger in her step as Spectra, but she doesn't have powers and obviously has a thing for cats. Gearhead's like Johnny 13, but he can take total control over any car he gets in, minus the Batmobile. You know Joker, so Harley Quinn's his psycho girlfriend."

"He has a girlfriend?"

"Yeah, more surprising than Ember and Skulker."

"Woah, is that the place Bruce works?" he asked, pointing at the tallest building in the city.

"Yeah, Wayne Industries; an awesome technologies company and huge donator to Gotham's Children's Hospital."

"How did he get a company with that big of a building?"

"I think his dad started it. I know it runs in the family, but every story is a little different."

"I thought you knew everything," he said with a laugh.

"Unlike you, there's been like a billion different Batmans. It's hard to keep track and remember."

"Want to go sit on top of the tower?"

"Sure," I agreed, flying up to land on its top. When we were both up there, I walked up to look over its side.

"Enjoying the view?" Danny asked.

"Too much smog. Amity Park never had that problem, did it?"

"Not unless my parents blew something up. I'm guessing Iowa didn't have that problem?"

"Never smog, but if you went into Des Moines, everything wreaked like pollution. So, on the basis of having to act like we love the city, what's your favorite part?"

"There's not nearly as many ghosts running around, but I really wish we had a portal."

"With ol' Vlady boy in town, there'll be a portal soon enough. Why do you want a portal?"

"Wulf made a whole new Ghost Zone and no human's even laid eyes on it yet. It's like the beginning of a universe."

"Maybe there is hope for the Fenton family of geniuses yet. That sounds like a scientific thought."

"I'm not wearing an orange jumpsuit yet," he said with a laugh.

"Thank goodness, orange is so not your colour. You could always wear blue like your mom. It'd bring out your eyes."

"You should know being an astronaut is the only thing for me," he said with a grin. "I doubt you can even see the stars in this city."

"Not with the light pollution, but maybe you can see them better from the mansion. It's quite a ways out of town, and I'm sure Bruce either has or will give you a telescope. Probably a pretty sweet one too."

"You really think so?"

"Of course. Don't tell anyone, but that old boy's got a real soft spot for kids. Why do you think I keep pushing my luck with him?"

"He really doesn't seem like the type. That guy is way too serious."

"He's just trying to fix his scars like all the rest of us. His parents were shot in front of him when he was eight."

"Tough break."

"Unlike you and me, he became a superhero because he had an experience he never wanted to have repeated. Either way, we all have our own agendas right?"

"What's mine?"

"I don't know. According to your theme song, when you got your powers, you just knew what to do."

"And what's yours?"

"I don't know, I don't have a theme song."

"Do you always have to evade my questions?"

"I think so. Sometimes I just wonder if I really even understand me. I think I've started falling in love with the lives I've had to leave behind."

"I think I might actually do this because I'm like my parents, but don't tell them that. I think you do it because at some rate you really hate this, and you love doing things you hate."

"That's not true," I said with a laugh.

"Then why?"

"The answer keeps on changing. It was because it seemed like the best way to get home, fight bad guys to figure out powers to advance forward, but I'm not sure I want to go forward anymore. Home doesn't seem that great. Maybe we'll get back to Amity Park and I can just stay there with you. Would you rather be with the stars or with your family?"

"I'd choose both."

"But if you could only have one?"

"I'd figure out how to make a duplicate. There's always a third option. You said you wanted to break the multiverse, so let's do it. You can live anywhere that'll make you feel happy, and you'll always be free to come hang out with me. I mean, I'm a pretty lucky guy to have three sisters."

"Three?"

"You, Jazz, and Dani. And who knows, maybe someday me and this girl that's supposed to have a crush on me will come live in your dimension when it seems like a good time to go on vacation."

"Danny Phantom never takes a vacation," I said with a laugh, jumping up onto the high ledge of the building.

"Kira, get down from there. Someone walking below is going to think you're trying to jump off," he said with a laugh, grabbing my good hand.

"Then don't let them think dear Danny, let them know!" I said, pulling him over the edge until we were both spiraling in a freefall. "Wahoo!"

"You're nuts!" he shouted, stabilizing himself and taking my hand.

"On three, pull up!" I instructed. "One… Two… Three!"

We pulled up in just enough time to avoid a truck that was driving down the street. I made my broken arm invisible and we landed down on the sidewalk, gasping for air and dying of laughter. "You're crazy," Danny said between gasps and laughter.

"Absolutely certifiable. That was so much fun," I breathed, falling down against a wall of a building. "High-five bro."

There was a smack of our hands as he slid down next to me. There was a small crowd of bewildered people gathering, but they just made us laugh harder.

"Wait, that's that ghost that made the shield in the park! Where's her arm?" one of the spectators finally realized.

"Oh crap," I said, calming down. "It's about time to get going Phantom."

"Yeah, right," he said, standing up.

"I don't think ol' Batsy's gonna be too happy with us," I said as I floated to my feet and nudged him before flying up.

"Yeah, we're so dead," he said, flying up after me.

"More dead than ghosts?" I joked, making both of us bust up laughing again. "I think that ride was a bit too joyful."

"You're going to get us on the news."

"Coming out with a bang right? Oh the bat-patience we will drive. Do you like the city now?"

"A little more. We'd better get back before we get in any more trouble."

"Since when have you ever been back by curfew?"

"Since when is mid-day curfew?"

"Since we live with a guy that hunts bad guys in the middle of the night."


	13. Chapter 13

**This chapter's a little shorter, but it's a sweet little moment I was thinking the story needed. Alfred will probably end up being more of a father figure for Kira Blake than Bruce would have been, mainly because of her objection to being anything other than Batman's equal. The next chapter's going to be a little different. I'm thinking about having a quick change of perspective to add a little plotting before we get into any school-time "fun." But anyway, enjoy!**

"Hey Al. Whatcha doin?" I asked as I walked into the living room.

"Oh, um, just taking a little bit of a break from my dusting," he said, rushing to turn off the TV and standing up.

"Don't worry Alfred," I said with a laugh, "I couldn't care less about you watching TV. Anything good on?"

"I'm sure nothing you'd be too interested in, just some game shows."

"Watching those again? Something better than that Think Thank Thunk show I hope," I joked.

"And how do you know about that?"

"Just a little bit too much TV myself," I answered. "What is there to do for fun in Gotham? So far all I've seen is endless blacktop and a park with too many signs that say to keep off the grass."

"I'm afraid I don't get out for fun too often," he said. "Don't you and Daniel have a tour to go to today?"

"Yeah, but it couldn't take that long could it?"

"When is the last time you toured a school in a large city?"

"Never, why?"

"Oh dear, you'll be wandering those halls for hours on your first day just to find an arithmetic room," he said with a smile, walking closer to me and putting one proper hand on my shoulder. "Why don't I help you dress for the occasion?"

"What kind of dress do you need to look at a school?" I laughed.

"You have a lot to learn," he said, gently guiding me toward the door.

"I don't think I'll ever learn," I said as we walked out of the room.

"Hm, Master Dick said the exact same thing when he moved in, and look how well he's adjusted."

"I think he'd still rather be hanging out on the high-wire or whatever it is acrobats do. I think I'd rather ride in a tractor cab on a hundred degree day than dress up to walk around a school."

"Too bad we don't have a tractor," he said with a smile.

"Can we get one? A tractor race sounds like all kinds of fun right now," I joked.

"Do you really do things like that where you're from?" he asked with genuine curiosity.

"I don't think so. They had a lawn mower race, and a friend of mine was in a demolition derby once, but that was about it. What about where you come from? England right?"

"I'm afraid my youth probably would have bored your generation. A lot of sport and running about with sticks."

"My generation never looks at anything but their phones. It'd be a pity to even be compared to them. Me and my friends were the ones that played in the mud and tried to catch frogs."

"My friends and I," he corrected. "You are going to a school today."

That had me giggling as we walked into my bedroom. "Do they have like a school or something you go to to learn how to be a butler?"

"There are academies for it, but I learned through an apprenticeship," he said after a quick laugh.

"Did your teacher tell you all about how to raise a kid into being a superhero?" I joked. "I think that gets you guardian of the century award."

"I assure you that's not how that works. Master Bruce has put himself in a lot of danger over the years."

"I think he turned out pretty good for what happened," I said as he started looking through my closet. "So what kind of fashion does a school visit require?"

"I would say something casual, but not too comfortable," he said, pushing aside a few hangers. "What about violet?"

"I'm more of a red kind of person."

"I believe the primary coloured rainbow in your closet can attest to that," he jested.

"I just look so good in primaries," I said with a smile. "I think it's just one of those 'Murican superhero things."

"You're a very odd young woman Kira," he said, pulling out a plain, long-sleeve purple shirt and some black slacks.

"Bruce said pretty close to the same thing," I said with a grin. "Keep saying it and I might start to think it's true."

"It doesn't seem that you have an issue with that."

I sighed as the same persistent thought I'd had all day started nagging at the back of my skull. "Hey Al, can I ask you a personal question?"

"What might that be?"

"Do you ever think about the bad guys Bruce has to face? I mean, do you ever just feel like you can't get them out of your head?"

"I try to keep it out of my mind."

"But has there ever been one that just stuck? Like, the ones that actually make death seem like a real possibility?"

"Well, I'd be lying if I said there hadn't been at least one. That Bane character was the first," he said solemnly. "That new ghost is bugging you, isn't she?"

"I really can't get her out of my head. How do you block it out?"

"We all must face our morality at some point, but normally I face it with a spot of tea. I could go make you some while you're getting dressed," he suggested.

"That'd be lovely," I said, taking the clothes from him.

"Right then," he said and grabbed my shoulder, giving it one reassuring squeeze before walking out of the room.

"Oh, putting these sleeves on over a cast is going to suck," I muttered before walking behind a screen in the corner of the room.

I struggled to slide the sleeve over my bad arm with one hand and continued to put the other one in. Let me just say, buttoning pants with one hand sucks major balls, like so major. Broken arms suck. I suck. Well, at least the bad I does. That is so not even English. Eh, my brain hurts.

"Are you almost finished Kira?" Alfred asked.

"Just getting done now," I said, finally getting the button on my pants done. "Good Lord buttons suck!" I whined, stepping out.

"Milk or sugar?" he asked after a quick chuckle.

"Surprise me. I've never had anything but iced tea before," I said, sitting on the corner of my still charred bed.

"I've never heard of such a thing," he said, pouring milk and white crystal sugar into a tea cup.

"It really isn't that common to drink hot tea is it? Though maybe I'm just a lazy backwaters kid," I said, taking the cup he was offering me.

I lifted the cup up to my lips and was about to take a sip when Alfred said, "Careful, it's hot."

That made me bust up with laughter when I said, "Have you seen my bed?"

"Right then," he said with an embarrassed smile before going to prepare his own cup.

"You're awesome Alfred," I said before finally taking a sip. It was hot enough that had I been totally human, I would have burnt the roof of my mouth, but seeing as, well, I wasn't, it didn't make much difference. "Maybe I can beat her with ice. Of course, I suck at the ice power, but Danny could help."

"What does she know that scares you so much?" he asked as he pulled over a chair from a desk nearby.

"Everything. Can't really bury the past when someone else knows all of its secrets. If what she knows gets out, we're all in danger and I'm royally screwed."

"You may wish to watch your language. You'll be going to a proper school in less than an hour," he said, about to take a sip of his tea.

"Careful, it's hot," I said, going to take a sip of my own with no problem, but seeming almost challenged by this, he sipped it anyway.

"By God!" he called after nearly spitting it out. "That is hot."

"It's like a glass of ice water for me," I said with a giggle.

"If only I had your abilities if only for tea time," he joked with half a smile before blowing on his tea and taking another sip.

"I like you Alfred. You're a lot more fun than Bruce."

"He doesn't see as much reason to be fun as I do."

"Cheers to that," I said and our cups clicked.


	14. A Master Plan

**So if you haven't noticed by the title, this isn't a normal chapter. It's a short and sweet piece of Kira's opposite's perspective to give a little foreshadowing to the master plan. Don't be too surprised to realize they both can anticipate each other's thoughts, the evil more so than the light in most cases. It may not be as good because I'm really bad at writing the bad guy, but I hope it gets you in a buzz for what's to come.**

"Hm, change your look and you lose all of that delicious misery? I'm not sure I like this new you," the ever annoying Spectra said as she flew up next to me in her shadow form.

"Funny thing, I didn't get ol' Casper's self-pity," I said, stretching my arms over my head. "Do you like the look? I was afraid it looked too much like the goody two-shoes Shadowrule."

"So the rumours are true; two Shadowrules. You must be the better half," she said, coming closer.

"The evil half anyway, if you could say what I do is evil. I only want to let the truth be told," I said with a grand laugh.

"So you really know all of Kira's secrets. What fun I could have with that!" Spectra said with an annoying cackle. My father always hated women who cackled.

"Yes, well, if you wish, I'm employing a team. Shadowrule may be stupid enough to try to face me with only herself and a bunch of humans, but I know better. You could have every bit of her misery free of charge as long as you promised to listen to every order I make."

"And who might be on this team of yours?" she said with intrigue. It was working. Pulling idiots into my plan was going to be easier than I thought.

"Well, for my plan to work, I need a chemical expert and someone to keep Batman off my back while I'm destroying Kira. Needless to say that green haired freak Joker was happy to enter my mission. Obviously his girlfriend jumped on it too, though I could really care less. Plasmius was overjoyed when I came to his door asking for assistance. It seems he rather enjoys my company. He'll probably have to die when this all is over. I'm awaiting a response from Skulker, and Ember absolutely refused. Oddly enough she likes the kid. Said she'd rather defeat her all by herself as a friendly challenge. According to my predictions, that should be enough."

"You talk big for such a tiny kid," she remarked.

"Don't try your tricks on me Spectra. You'll just make me angry, and anger makes me stronger," I threatened, keeping my voice icy cold.

"If I am going to join this assembly of yours, what am I supposed to call you?"

"If I really am to bring the secrets to light, I should have a name that conveys that. Call me the Master of Light, or just Light for short. I wouldn't want to make things overly difficult," I said with a grin. "If you're really committed, I need you to tail Shadowrule. Don't reveal yourself and try to only go around when Phantom approaches. She'll think it's her ghost sense reacting to his arrival. She's probably already doubting her abilities, so leave her with no other thoughts."

"That sounds… tasteful," she said with a smirk. "I'll go right away."

"Oh, and one more thing," I said as she started to leave. "Keep Bertrand out of this. He has a habit of being too noticeable."

"If I must," she said, flicking her hair before flying off.

"Now to test my theory," I muttered to myself as I pulled out one of my hairs and an eye dropper filled with green chemical. Carefully making sure the chemical made no contact with my skin, I dripped one drop onto the hair. Just as I suspected, it turned bright green. After I let the typical small rings of fire spread across it, turning it back to its human form, it was still stained with the abnormal colour.

"Shadow's going to be in for one heck of a bath."


	15. Chapter 14

**Wahoo! 1 day and 2 hours left of school! Okay, I just have to ask, did anyone notice I accidentally made a Death Note reference with the character names? I just couldn't get that out of my head. Anyway, this chapter's all kinds of crazy. Just remember when reading the rest of this story, Kira only thinks about half of her actions through. Anyway, enjoy!**

"Oh my God, this is more than awesome," I said quietly as we approached the school.

"Why?" Danny asked.

"That girl right there, the one with the brown hair. She's the kid I saved from the fire in Detective Yin's apartment," I said, nodding to a girl. "I think she said her name was Kris."

"She looks like she could be your twin," Danny said, studying her further.

"No way. We don't look anything alike," I said.

"Have you looked in a mirror lately?"

"Not really. I use fire as a blow dryer remember? I don't wear makeup. What use would I have for mirrors?"

"Hey look, she's coming towards us," Danny said.

"What?"

"Good afternoon. I'm Kristen Brown, elected class representative sent to show you around. It's good to meet you Mr. Wayne, and what are your names?" she asked cheerfully.

Danny started to speak, but I cut him off when I heard a D instead of a J. "Kira Blake and James Fenton," I said.

"So I have another KB to worry about," she joked, letting out a friendly laugh.

"Yeah," I said, letting the same fake but friendly laugh come from my mouth. "How old are you?"

"Sixteen."

"What's your favorite colour?"

"Red. Does this mean we're going to be best friends?"

"Of course," I said, shaking her hand. "I'm sixteen, my favorite colour's red, and I figured out today that I really like tea."

"I love tea."

"See Bruce, this is how friendships start," I said, smiling to my legal guardian.

"We won't be able to tell the two of you apart," Bruce said with his fake rich boy laugh.

"I don't see it," Kris and I said at the same time. "Now that's just weird. She's copying me."

"You've got to be reading my mind," I said with a laugh. "You're like an alternate dimension version of me."

"There's seven billion people in this world. I guess there's bound to be one just like me," she said. "Now come on, I'll show you the school."

"She's not you know who is she?" Danny whispered to me.

"No, I met her before the split. Besides, her speech patterns aren't right. She may just be a parallel to me in this world," I whispered back.

"Is that really possible?"

"I guess so," I said as we walked through the front door.

"You two whisper a lot," Kris said. "Are you cousins or something?"

"Siblings actually. I took our mother's name, he took our father's. At least I think he was my father too," I answered.

"Strange, you don't look like siblings. Anyway, welcome to our school. The main office is right there. These lockers and the ones in the next two hallways are for freshmen. I'm assuming you'll both probably be coming in as sophomores?"

"They're supposed to take a placement test tomorrow to discover that," Bruce said quite formally.

"Is that an incompatibility thing from switching between schools?"

"No, we've been homeless for the majority of our lives," I said quite casually.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said.

"No, it's alright. It's not upsetting, just most people find it unsettling," I said, walking with false purpose. "Does it feel cold in here to anyone else? I swear I saw my breath a few moments ago."

"I think the AC's on the fritz. I'm sure they'll have it repaired soon," Kris said with a chill of her own.

"That explains it," I said, shifting uncomfortably and giving Danny a quick glance.

"So do you go by James or Jimmy or Jim or what?" Kris asked Danny as we continued walking down the hall.

"Which do you like?" he asked, sounding like a total smooch.

"I think you look like a Jimmy myself," Kris said with a flirtatious glance.

"Then Jimmy it is," he said, slightly blushing in the face.

"Slow it up Jimmy boy. We haven't even started school yet and you're trying to get the girls," I joked, making them both feel embarrassed.

"Oh," she said, clearing her throat, "every science class you can think of will be down this hallway. The entire school's set up in blocks like that so you can find your way around easier. With class sizes of four hundred or more-"

"Four hundred?" Danny questioned.

"That's huge," I said with astonishment.

"I guess it would be for you," she said with a laugh. "Class sizes used to be bigger, but budget cuts made it necessary to reduce the number of kids on scholarship. I was one of the lucky ones that kept mine. If you were ever to need a bathroom, all you have to do is look up at the signs. They can be a bit confusing sometimes, but at least they'll tell you you're going in the right direction. Would you like to take a glimpse into one of the classes?"

"Sure," I said, shrugging my shoulders.

"Are you sure we won't interrupt?" Bruce asked kindly.

"Oh, no worry at all. We bring in new students all the time to look around. It's no intrusion," Kris assured.

"Alright then," Bruce said with a hint of concern to his voice.

"We'll just pop in the-"

"Ah!" screamed a voice muffled by the door. Bruce and I shared a glance of confusion before the door burst open as thirty kids all tried to rush out at once. They were all screaming about a ghost, but enough of them were trying to get through at once that they were jamming the door.

I checked to make sure Kris wasn't looking and stepped behind Bruce. Once I was out of view, I went invisible and walked up to the wall. I pressed my good hand flat against it and focused until the wall around the doorway went intangible, letting everyone run through and letting us see what they were running from.

It was Skulker. How lovely, he'd drawn a little rough sketch of me with a severed head on the white board. Bruce and Danny gave each other a knowing look and started running away.

"I'm goin' ghost!" I heard Danny shout after he'd ducked into a janitor's closet. Bruce was probably going to take a bit longer.

Once everyone was gone, I regained my visibility and took a peek inside, but the moment I could see the inside of the room, Skulker soar right passed me through the doorway, knocking me off my feet by clipping my shoulder.

"What the hell skull head? Is that any way to treat a lady?" I shouted at him.

"You should be glad I have other prey to hunt, but soon I will have your head," he said, stopping only for a moment before continuing.

"Other prey?" I questioned as I started running after him.

"Hey tin-head. Since when did you decide to go back to school? I'm sure Ember will be so proud," Danny mocked, stopping to float in front of him.

"I have no need for you either whelp," Skulker said, shooting a shoulder rocket at him.

Danny shielded it, but then Skulker shot something as simple as an ectoblast. I had no idea why until it actually hit Danny's shield and made it shatter.

"He's using my techniques!" I said to myself.

"Sorry to cut this short ghost child, but I'm on an errand," Skulker said, flying through a wall.

"Phantom, you follow direct. I'll go find Bruce," I called to Danny as he started standing up.

"Got it," he said, running right at the wall before jumping up into flight and phasing through.

I started in a dead sprint toward the exit. There was no way I was going to expose on the same day that both Shadowrule and I both had a broken arm, so I might as well go check on Bruce. It was unlikely that he'd get much action with being so slow, but I didn't want Skulker to hurt him.

When I shoved open the doors to the outside, there was a large crowd that had formed. I pushed through it and looked up when I saw Skulker floating right above everyone. Batman was struggling to get out of the tight grasp he had around his chest.

He caught Bruce.

"Put him down Skulker!" I shouted, pushing towards him until a little circular gap had formed around me.

"Why don't you make me child?" he questioned, still floating steady.

"Miss Blake, get out of here," Batman ordered, disassociating himself with me.

"You're not my dad," I retorted. "Now put him down tin head, or Danny Phantom's gonna kick your metal pants into next week."

"That whelp won't be an issue. Using a special upgrade the Master of Light gave me, I took him down like the worthless foe he is."

"Who's the Master of Light?" I demanded.

"I believe you two have already met. Now either stop me right now, or I hand your city's idol over to Light," he said.

I bit my lip and looked down at my feet. If I went ghost, I risked everyone figuring out who Batman was in the process, and if I did nothing, he'd give him over to Light, which I could only assume was the dark version of me. There was one thing I could do, but I didn't know whether or not I could really hit my target.

"Put the rodent down skull breath," I said, throwing down my arm to release my wrist ray and then aiming it back up at him.

"Do you want me to break your other arm hero?" Skulker questioned. "That weapon is nothing but a toy."

He was right. All I could really do was make him drop Bruce, and that wouldn't help with anything. I was too weak to stop him. He had all the right cards and this newly named Light was the one that dealt them. "You win this time, but I swear to God Shadowrule and Danny Phantom are going to make you wish you were never born, just like they always do. And you pass the message on to Light. This city doesn't surrender to ghosts."

"Then what are you doing?"

"Compromising. I'm just a kid remember? A really stupid kid."

It made my heart shred to pieces when I heard his laugh and Batman struggling fade into the distance. I couldn't stop him. Light had kicked me right in the metaphorical nuts and there was nothing I could do but watch. They knew all along that I wouldn't save him being caught like this. Her damn strategic skills were better than mine.

There were cries of outrage coming from the surrounding students. Skulker said I could stop him, so everyone just figured I had chosen not to for some stupid reason. There were kids all around me blaming me for letting a ghost take the city's hero. It was my fault. It was all my stupid fault.

I reached a hand into my pocket and fished out a phone Bruce had given me. There was a bunch of numbers he had pre-programmed into it. One of them stood out to me over all the others as I pushed my way back to the school. Danny and I would be outmatched. Robin and Batgirl could do nothing. But right there, right in front of my face, one number could help.

_Ring… Ring… Ring… Click._

"Who is this?"

"Bruce Wayne's newest daughter," I replied.

"How did you get this number?"

"He gave it to me, but…"

"Is something wrong?"

"I really wish Superman was Gotham's hero right now."

"I'll meet you at the mansion in five minutes."

"It'll probably take me longer than that to get there. I'll see you when we get there," I said before hanging up the phone.

Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, I had to admit to needing Clark Kent's help.


	16. Chapter 15

**Hey guys! So, I hope you guys realize I read all of your comments. Clever, you are a really clever guy (Pun intended). You actually noticed a plot hole I put in on purpose, and one that I just plain forgot. Have to be honest, I really did forget about ol' Robin. I made a resolution to that part, and this chapter really is just for understanding some crazy stuff that's been going on, and going into depth on the new stuff Bats was working on, along with making a plan of action. Sorry you were disappointed, friend, but rest assured you will never be disappointed for long as long as you point those kinds of things out to me. Thanks for the constructive criticism, and enjoy, it's a bit of a long one.**

"Why didn't you stop him?" Clark questioned.

"I… I couldn't… She out planned me; got me when my defenses were down. I couldn't stop him without revealing what this entire household does in its night life, including Bruce," I said reluctantly. "I don't know how to win in a no win scenario."

"You should have thought of something," Clark said, pinning all of the blame on me. "Bruce would have thought of a third option."

"Believe me, I tried… I really tried. But I second guessed myself, and now Light has Bruce and it's all my fault. What would you have done?"

"I would have saved him."

"And kill him in the process as his identity dribbles down to all of his enemies and they slit his throat in his bed. I wanted to save him, but I couldn't. We can now though, right? We can find Light and stop her and get him back right?"

"I hate to tell you this Kira, but my powers are nearly entirely ineffective on ghosts. How would I be able to help?"

"I don't know, you're Superman, you're supposed to be able to kick ass. Even though I say you suck and you're worthless, I need a hero with a different perspective. I can't beat myself."

"Then have Phantom beat her."

"He can't. Somehow that freak took my concentrated anger and hate of humanity. She'd have no problem fighting dirty and even killing Danny, but there's no way she'd expect me to ask you for help."

"Why wouldn't she?"

"Because I'd never do it. That's why I'm doing it now. I'd call Lantern, Martian, even Hawkman, but not Superman. She knows I can't stand you and would never believe I'd go for your help. It may not even be the smartest idea, but it gives me a leg up."

"So you're asking for my help because you hate me."

"Yes."

"Hey Kira, where's Bruce?" a groggy Danny asked as he walked into the room.

"Why doesn't he know?" Clark asked.

"I found an unconscious James Fenton lying on the ground in one of the school hallways. Bruce was outside when it happened. Skulker must have knocked him out before he nabbed B," I said.

"Skulker got Bruce?" Danny questioned in shock.

"He got Batman, just to be clear. I tried to stop him, but he trapped me between a rock and a hard place."

"Oh no."

"And worse yet, he's working with bad me which happens to be calling herself Light. Even worse than that, that entire school thinks I had a chance to save Batman and I didn't. Everyone hates me, and they have good right to."

"So you called him? I thought he hated him."

"That's the idea," Clark said, awkwardly sitting back in his chair.

"So, now we have the world's worst super team," I said, shoving my hand into my pocket.

"Why not call in the Justice League?" Danny asked.

"Too predictable," Clark said, rubbing his chin in thought.

"Even if it is predictable, how is Light supposed to stop a huge team of heroes?"

"Yellow powder, fire, Kryptonite, a net or something for Hawkman, and Arrow's easy," I said. "I know all their weaknesses, so so does she."

"So why can't she stop him?" Danny asked.

"Because she knows I'll doubt everything, it's only in my nature. I'll doubt and I'll doubt until I mess myself up, so she knows I won't bring in a huge team to share my failure. It's questionable that I'll even survive."

"You can't say that Kira. You're going to be fine," Danny said as if it were a ridiculous thought. "You'd never kill anyone, so why would she?"

"How do you know I wouldn't?" I questioned, giving him a dead serious look. "I was taught from a young age that sometimes it's necessary and how to do it, I just never applied it."

"And when would that ever be necessary?" Clark asked with a lot of anger.

"My dad made a lot of enemies at work. It was a matter of personal protection, but when I was at my lowest, I thought about it. But I always pushed it away with pure morality. It seems like she doesn't have that to rope her back. That's the real difference."

"That's messed up."

"Ugh!" I shouted, standing up abruptly. "There has to be something she missed, but she's so far ahead of me. Maybe if we just wait Bruce'll get out on his own, but then she's probably thought that through too."

"You're over-thinking it," Danny said.

"Hey, I heard what happened," an out of breath Dick said as he ran into the room.

"Where the hell were you?" I questioned, looking at my adoptive brother. "Your damn school gets wrecked by a ghost and you didn't get here until now?"

"Um," he muttered, shifting something behind his back.

"What do you have?" I questioned, trying to get a look behind his back, but he kept moving.

"He's got arcade tokens in his pocket," Clark said with annoyance.

"Great job Dick, the one day you skip school is the one day we could have used your help," I shouted, reaching my finger tips in his pocket and snatching out the metal coins. "You could have skipped any other day and I would have congratulated you for being normal and fun, but no, you picked today."

"Kira, you're getting too hot. It wasn't his fault," Danny said.

"Damn it!" I shouted. "It's not his fault, it's my fault for being a frickin' freak. None of this should have happened."

"Kira," Alfred said gravely, walking into the room, "you may want to come see this."

"What?" I demanded as I walked passed him through the doorway. "Plasmius."

"Oh please Kira, don't use that name as such an insult," he responded, standing there in full ghost form.

"What do you want Vlad?" Danny questioned as he came to stand by me.

"Well if you must know, I think you don't like me," he said.

"And what was your first clue? Maybe the day I said something along the lines of 'I hate you Plasmius, and I'll never trust you,'" I said in a snarky manner.

"Let me clarify, I don't think the other you likes me," he said.

"And I should care why?"

"Do you think I'm an idiot?"

"Yes."

"I know for a fact that she doesn't want me around, but she did want me in her mission."

"So you came to us why?"

"I'm starting to think she wants me dead," he said with a scowl.

"Shocker!"

"I would advise that you take me seriously, especially seeing as this belt doesn't match these leggings," he said, shifting his cape slightly to reveal Batman's utility belt.

"Where the hell did you get that?" I questioned, rushing at him and pinning him against the wall by the neck.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you anything if you strangle me," he said in a struggled voice.

Danny pulled my arm away from him and asked, "What do you know Vlad?"

"So now you trust him?" I questioned.

"I don't trust him, just let him say what he's going to say," Danny ordered.

I grunted a noise of discontent and Vlad said, "Look at the belt. What do you notice?" He grabbed it with one hand and let a small section of his waist around it go intangible, that way the locks and protective features didn't activate. Then he handed it to me.

"The bottoms are blown out of most of the pouches," I said, looking over it. "But how's that possible? It's metal, and a pretty strong one at that. What could have done that?"

"Anything under a little pressure will find the quickest release. Apparently the caps on those are stronger and thicker than the bottoms. Everything just fell out."

"There would have had to have been an enormous amount of heat built up. How did it not melt?"

"I'm afraid that your new mentor may be even more resourceful than me. Somehow he made the metal resistant to ecto-energy, but that had no effect on the inside."

"Clark, get in here," I ordered, still staring down at the belt with scientific intrigue.

"What do you need?" he asked curtly as he walked in.

"What's this made out of boy scout?" I asked, handing him the belt.

"I have no idea," he said after staring at it for the moment.

"What do you mean you have no idea?" I questioned.

"I mean I've never seen anything like it before. It's titanium, but it has some kind of chemical concentrate, and it's held together in a grid of stationary nanites," he said, looking perplexed.

"Chemical concentrate? Is it natural, like maybe from a plant?" I asked.

"Maybe," he said. "It's carbon based, but there's this subtle pinkish glow."

"Blood blossoms! Then how could we touch it?" Vlad realized.

"Batman's a genius," I said, taking it from Clark. "But, there is one theory I have to test. BTWs, love how you didn't even question any of what Smallville just did."

"I walked into the house of a man that dresses like a bat. I pictured it as normal for you," Vlad explained.

"True," I said as I turned the belt intangible. "So we know it works that way, but," I said as I walked over and put it on a small table, "how about if I actually try grabbing something?" When I tried to push an intangible finger through the metal, or when it was intangible and I tried to grab something with a tangible hand, it shocked my fingertips. "So he wanted the belt to be able to go intangible."

"Those nanites move into a concentrated patch when you try to put your hand inside," Clark noted. Obviously! So Bruce was using the nanite tech that Joker 2.0 was made out of to protect his belt.

"So it's not as dangerous when they're spread out. He did this on purpose," I said, taking my hand and making it burn red hot before grabbing one of the pouches that hadn't been blown out yet. After a good minute of the hottest heat I could muster, the bottom popped like a party favour. "Was she trying to open this?"

"I have no idea. She came back to the hideout with Skulker and Batman and it was like that, still around his waist when they arrived. I escaped with it as proof," Vlad said.

"Alright, rewind. Light was with Skulker?" I asked.

"Yes. They left at the same time and came back at the same time. Now why aren't you asking where she is?"

"I can't beat her yet, what's the point?" I pointed out. "God, did it look like that at the school?"

"I wasn't there," Vlad said.

"No no, not you. I'm talking to myself," I said, closing my eyes and concentrating.

Bring up the picture. Batman could do it. There was the crowd; all matching in uniforms. Ten brunettes, seven blondes, two with black hair. Looking above them, the sky was… there were two clouds drifting through the sky. In front of that, there was Skulker, green hair and… his eyes were red. They're not supposed to be red. But how would that be possible? Ghosts can overshadow humans and half ghosts, but half ghosts can't overshadow ghosts. It's not possible. Two entities of the same matter can't enter each other. Unless somehow she'd focused her energy to run off of her human side, or maybe she walked into him while he was intangible. Either way, Skulker wasn't acting like normal Skulker. She used him as a puppet! That was something I would do.

"Vlad, you know a lot more about this ghost stuff than me. Can you overshadow another ghost? I know I could overshadow you, but a pure ghost?" I asked.

"That can't be possible," he scoffed as if it were ridiculous.

"I don't know what she did, but for now I have to take it as unimportant. What matters in Skulker was using fire, whether she was augmenting him somehow or controlling him I don't care. But there's one thing I don't understand."

"What's that?" Clark asked.

"If Bats had the tech for this belt to be ecto-resistant, why didn't he just stop Skulker or Light or whoever it was from taking him?"

"He wanted to get caught," Danny realized, his eyes widening.

"Exactly! But part of his plan went wrong. He must have thought she'd take his belt away, but I know him better than that and so does she. She knew she had to empty or destroy it, and it obviously didn't let her get inside of it, so she tried to melt the metal. But even that didn't work right. Since our power is caused by ecto-energy, she couldn't affect the metal itself because it was tempered with blood blossom, but that means nothing for the air inside it. The molecules would have started freaking out until they had to go somewhere. Bats must have thought no idiot would try to open it from the bottom, so why weigh himself down with thick bases? That's why they popped like corn kernels."

"So what?" Clark asked.

"So he lost all his tools! He had a plan, but now it won't work. He was going to infiltrate their base and stop them from the inside. He's a genius. He's an idiot genius!"

"So now he needs us to clean up his mess?" Danny said with a little irritation.

"Exactly, and we're gonna do it just like he tried!" I said slamming my hand down on the table the belt was now laying on. "But I need your help Vlady boy."

"And how might it be that I could help you?" Vlad asked with one of his signature sinister looks.

"I need an inside man, and no one would take a second look at you. I'm going to need hair dye and a change of costume, and a mask in case they figure me out," I said, pacing back in forth in triumph.

"You can't be serious!" Danny argued.

"Batman would do it," I said, giving him a look of total seriousness.

"You're not Batman, and you've got a broken arm," he continued.

"One, I don't have to be to have conviction. Two, I take the cast off. It may reinjure the arm but at least we'll save Bruce. Now come on, we need to get to a shopping mall," I instructed.

"Don't you need money for that?" Danny questioned, crossing his arms.

"That's why we got him. What do you say Uncle Vlad?" I asked with a grin.

"You can't be serious!" Danny shouted.

"But I am! I'm dead serious Danny, and you need to start looking at the end game instead of getting there the righteous way," I said, turning my eyes to stare into Vlad's with unwavering confidence.

"But we're the good guys!"

"I'm not, you are. I go for whatever team suits me best. Quit expecting me to do the right thing. Those moments are few and far between."

"I could help," Clark pointed out.

"On a reporter's salary Clarky? I don't think so," I said, leaping over to the door. "Alfred, get a car ready please. Vlad, I need a human. I call shotgun."

"Right then!" Alfred said, rushing to the exit as Vlad retook his human form.

I ran after him and jumped into the front passenger seat of the limo when he pulled it up to the front of the manor.

"Why do you want to sit up here?" Alfred asked as the rest of them piled into the back.

"So I can do this," I said, pressing a button that raised a tinted window between the front and the back seats.

"Mr. Kent can still here us," Alfred said with a confused look.

"I know. I expected that. Hey super-boy," I said, obviously addressing the man in the back seat.

"You know Kira, you could have just asked me to fetch you some money," Alfred said.

"I know, it's genius right? It's just to make ol' Vlady feel useful. Honestly, you or Kenty-boy back there could have helped even on a reporter's salary. I just needed him to feel like I need him because I do. He can tell me when Light is out so I can sneak in, maybe even distract her to get me time to get out if need be," I explained in a rush pumped by adrenaline.

"That seems rather over-thought," Alfred said, giving me an odd glance.

"Exactly! I'm not thinking like I normally do. That's how I'm going to beat her. If I don't seem like me, how is she supposed to anticipate my choices?"

"That's probably the craziest thing I've ever heard, but it may work."

"But when I do the final strike, I'm going to need Clark to do some distraction work. All I have to do to save Bruce is sabotage something, just one thing, and he's got the wits to get the rest of the way out."

"Just be careful Kira," he said with a sad look.

"Don't worry about me Al. I'll be in and out in five minutes max. It's Bruce we still have to worry about. I won't put myself at too much risk," I explained. "Imagine it, Kira Blake, master saboteur."

"I think sometimes you're too imaginative for your own good," he said with a little fear.

"Maybe, but I'm not too imaginative for Bruce's."


	17. Chapter 16

**Hey guys, DarkShadowrule here! ****_MS_****Clever, thanks for that comment, it made me feel like the bomb. I'm always here to please, and P.S. I'm a girl too, hence Kira being female :P Always nice to have a fellow nerd lady. FYI, school's out, and stories should be rolling out! Anyway, hope you all enjoy this chapter, it's got a bit of a cliffy. Bye!**

"How do I look?" I asked, walking out of the bathroom wearing clothes to match Light's and my ghost white hair stained black.

"You look positively evil," Vlad remarked, "but you may want to light up your eyes."

"Right, red," I said, focusing my energy to let them turn blood red. "I feel like I'm never going to get this hair white again. I'm going to need so much bleach."

"You are such a girl," Danny remarked, copying the phrase I commonly told him.

"Thanks, and you're so clueless. Now what would an evil me talk like?" I asked, checking over my outfit.

"Like you do when you go to a gothic poetry club with Sam," Danny said, inspecting me oddly.

"No, Light acts arrogant every moment of her life, and she would never refer to you as anything but that annoying moniker 'boo,'" Vlad said with a hint of distaste.

"You sound like that angers you Vlady," I said, flicking up my hair.

"At least I have the respect to refer to my adversaries by their appropriate names. That just lacks class," he complained, crossing his arms.

"Aw, so you do care," I said in a mocking tone.

"Don't push it."

"Now for the final touch," I said as I let my arm burn up, destroying the cast. "Now just to hope to God for no swift movements."

"Maybe this isn't the best idea," Danny said nervously.

"Aw, don't worry D, I'll be fine. So she's not negative, she's cocky. Does she have that evil doer swagger and mwahahaha deal?"

"I've never heard her say 'mwahahahaha' before," Vlad said, less than amused.

"But now you have," I said with a grin.

"Aren't you even the least bit nervous?" Danny questioned.

"Oh yeah, I'm petrified on the inside, but I'm letting it settle as a persistent stomach cramp," I said, taking a deep breath. "But, can't let that stop me."

"If you really can't go through with this, don't," Clark said. "I think you know what happens if you mess up."

"Add another to the casualties. I get it," I said, dropping my arms to my side. "You don't need to remind me."

"I think you do. If you do this, you could die," Danny said with concern.

"And if I don't, Batman will," I said, taking another deep breath.

"Is your communicator activated?" Dick checked, going over some tech stuff.

"Yeah, hooked up to the Batwave and firing on all cylinders," I affirmed. "You ready Vlad?"

"Child, when am I ever not ready?" he said, sliding a foot to the side and letting two black rings take him over from the waist.

"Don't call me child," I said, narrowing my eyes.

"Already getting into character?" Vlad asked, standing up straight.

"No, getting into hating you, but I guess it's the same thing."

"Keep up that attitude and you'll sound exactly like Light."

"I hate you, so much," I said, jumping up into the air and floating there.

"A mere front, but I understand how you think," he said, floating up to join me with his hands tucked together behind his back.

"BS. Remember to stay invisible until we get into the city," I said, going intangible.

"I'll be just fine," he said, turning intangible himself. "But how am I supposed to see your lovely face?"

"Creep. Follow the eyes," I said, flying through the ceiling.

"So I have to know, what do you have planned for this saboteur scheme of yours?" Vlad asked, flying close by to my glowing eyes.

"I don't know yet. How are they holding Batman?" I responded.

"In chains, but he's in a stasis field that blocks out influence of Martians. That crazed child believes in aliens now too," he scoffed.

"She stole the idea from an episode of Justice League!" I complained. "She didn't want Martian Manhunter being able to track him. She's smart, I'll give her that."

"So Aliens are real?"

"Better start wearing your tin foil hat brainiac, 'cause they can read minds."

"Now you're lying."

"Would I ever lie to you Vlady?"

"Strangely enough, I believe for the most part you don't," he said with a slightly surprised voice. "Why is that?"

"Oh, I so don't need you picking at my brain today Plasmius," I said, shaking my head.

"Ah, there it is! You use that name like a curse every time you're trying to hide yourself," he analyzed.

"And I thought I was the future psychologist. Of course I do! It's called disassociation, humanity's strongest defense," I replied.

"I thought that would be sarcasm in your case."

"Eh, shut up."

"It's alright right now. Light is overly sarcastic, even more so than you on a regular day."

"Whatever. Is there anything else I should know about? What's Batman's condition?"

"He hasn't spoken a single word. He just sits around glaring at everyone that comes into the room," he answered.

"Yep, sounds like he's pouting," I said, floating onto my back. "But he's okay right? I mean, they haven't hurt him?"

"The clown hasn't been very delicate with him obviously."

"The clown?"

"Yes, and that red jester girl that's always with him."

"Joker and Harley Quinn?" I asked with concern.

"If I remember correctly. He was leaving whoopee-cushions and chattering teeth on everything in my lab."

"I would so laugh at that if I weren't freaking out. Why the hell would she want Joker in the group? He never plays well with others and typically ends up pissing everyone else off until they kick him out."

"Do remember Kira, you never do anything without purpose," he said intelligently.

"But I don't know why I'd ever ask him for help other than to distract Bats, but there's about twenty different people I'd rather do that. And I could understand picking you, even Skulker, but Joker's just annoying."

"I can agree. We're stationed in a warehouse just over there," he said, becoming visible and pointing east.

"Leave a duplicate here and go on inside. If she's gone, have it tell me to go inside and then keep watch," I ordered, looking down at the building as we stopped and floated.

"Hm, nothing like being polite," he said sarcastically before splitting expertly in two.

"I don't need any of your lip Plasmius," I said with crunched eyebrows as the original flew down to the building.

"Come now Kira, act like you're at least slightly enjoying yourself. Light would," the duplicate said.

"That's not my name right now," I corrected.

"Of course _Light._"

"Ugh, whatever. What's it look like down there?"

"Light's out," he responded with a short laugh.

"Joker's been rubbing off on you," I said before flying down to the building and phasing through the roof.

"Another ghost un-phased," Joker said before falling into a fit of laughter as I landed on the floor.

"You need to work on the ghost puns," I sighed, rolling my eyes.

"I thought you and that skull creep were going out for the night," Harley said, crossing her arms.

"I don't need to be there, I just sent a duplicate," I lied. "And where do you get off questioning me Doctor?"

"Don't raise your voice with Harley, only I can do that," Joker ordered, getting up in my face, making me look up at him until I floated up to his eye level.

"Whatcha gonna do about it clown boy?" I questioned in a menacing voice.

He continued staring me down for five seconds longer before busting into laughter again. That guy couldn't be serious for more than ten seconds. "You really are funny kid," he said as he started to calm himself down.

"I'm not a kid," I said, walking straight through him rather than around him. "How's our little house guest doing?"

"You know B-Man, still being a party pooper as usual," Harley said, skipping up to me and slowing to walk in the same direction as me. Obviously I was lucky enough to pick the right way.

"Goin' to go pay him a visit? I thought you didn't want to be around him until he started talking Light," Joker said, springing up on my other side.

"He'll start talking when I'm in there, I'm sure of it," I said, continuing to walk to the only door he could be behind. There was a light spilling out around the frame, and I heard the buzz of overused electricity.

Harley jumped forward and held open the door as Joker and I walked in, making me jump and nearly shout when she slammed it shut and hit me in the rear. I turned to her with eyes flared out in flames before turning to look at Batman as Joker laughed.

Batman was staring at me with analytical eyes as I walked closer with the band of idiots. He was noticing something off about the visit too. "Don't look too happy to see me Bats, you might strain a cheek from smiling too hard," I said in the most sarcastic way possible. He stayed silent as Joker and Harley started laughing for a very short time.

"Do you want me to give him a reason to smile?" Joker asked in a dark enough voice that I had to hide the urge to shiver.

That was probably the hardest thing I had to do. Light would probably enjoy it knowing how dark I can be some times, but the guy was supposed to be my adoptive father. "What do I care?" I said coldly, stepping back and leaning against the doorway.

"You really are fun today," Joker said, making a show of pushing up his sleeves before walking up to Bruce and punching him from the right side of his face. My arm slightly twitched from the shock of seeing it, and I had to take a long, quiet breath through my nose.

_"Come on Kira," _I thought, _"just enough hits to make it look real and you can tell them to get out while you take your turn."_

"Come on Batsy," Joker said after punching him a few more times, "it's not nice to ignore a lady."

"I'm pretty sure I'm ignoring your bad jokes," Bruce said, looking at him in defiance as a small bit of blood dripped down the side of his mouth.

"Haha! And he finally speaks," Joker said, punching him one more time hard across the face.

"That's enough Joker," I said, stepping closer to Bruce. "Give me some time with him."

"Ooh, a private funhouse," he said in a tone that annoyed the crap out of me. "Come on Harl, let's leave these two alone."

I waited for them to leave and muttered, "That guy drives me nuttier than an almond tree."

"What are you doing here Shadow?" Bats asked in a quiet voice.

"What gave it away?" I asked in a hushed tone to copy his.

"You flinched every time I got punched."

"I need to learn how to cover that up better. Are you alright? He didn't hurt you too bad did he?" I asked with worry, wiping the small stream of blood coming from his lip off with my sleeve.

"I'll be fine. You really shouldn't be doing this."

"Don't worry, I'm not breaking you out, entirely. I still need to get out here safely, and I can't do that if I'm running for my life with you in tow," I said, looking over the control panel of the stasis field. It was a computer set-up guarded by a password. "This field doesn't cause any direct danger to you, does it?"

"As far as I know it doesn't," he said, looking it over. "It's just a telepathic dampener field, isn't it?"

"That's what Vlad said," I said, heating up a finger and touching one of the chains holding his arms in place. I did a small cut so only a thread of metal was left. "Take this," I said, putting a small laser cutter in his hand. "When I'm out of here, you can break the chains on your hands no problem and then use that cutter on the ones on your legs."

"Watch out Shadow. Joker had a funny look on his face and not like his normal one," he warned.

"I will," I said, giving him a quick hug to reassure myself more than him that things would be okay. "See you when you get home."

He sent me a light smile and I walked to the door. I took a deep breath and recomposed myself, then I phased through the door. It was what was waiting for me at the other side that sent me a curve ball for the worst.


	18. Chapter 17

**And we get to see how the problems unravel, finally. Hope you all enjoy this one, it's kind of a mix full of crazy. I can't help but feeling I didn't get the dialogue just right, but I think I made it work. Enjoy!**

"Best laid plans, right boo?"

"Aw nuts," I said, looking at Vlad and Light standing side by side. "The one time I trusted you Plasmius, the one time."

"Oh please child, I'm the villain, you should never trust me. I saw right through your plan. Nobody makes an idiot of Plasmius," Vlad responded, standing tall and proud of himself.

"You do all the time," Light and I both said at the same time.

"Sorry I have to cut this little party short, but I have a bird, a ghost, and an idiot to go home to so…" I said, slowly stepping back in fear.

"Don't you remember what happens when a ghost is cornered by anyone with Plasmius's tech?" Light asked, stepping closer to me.

"They get joy buzzed!" Harley Quinn shouted from my left, making me turn to her completely oblivious of Joker coming up from my right. When I felt a terrible shock spread through my body, I wasn't oblivious anymore.

I shouted out in terrible pain as I dropped to my knees and green particles of energy spread out over my body. When it stopped, I was panting for air as fire rings spread out from my waist. "No no no no no," I muttered as I looked down at my non-glowing, perfectly human hands. "This can't be happening." I was so blinded by my apparent victory that I didn't listen to Batman's warning. I'm such an idiot.

"But it is happening boo. You remember the episode where Danny and his mom were stuck out in the woods and ol' Vlady had the ingenious idea to short circuit his ghost half and send angry ghost critters after him? Welcome to the feeling of the Plasmius Maximus," she said as I pushed myself to my feet.

"Okay, uh, now I'm screwed," I said, looking around with fear and backing so far up that my back hit the door. "You remember what Dad said, about always givin' someone a fare fight before you kick their ass?"

"We can't stand Dad," she responded, walking closer.

"Eh, you're right, but sometimes he had good ideas," I said, listening for any sign that Bruce was out yet.

"How about granting her a head start? That always makes these games more entertaining," Plasmius suggested with a dark look in his eyes.

"Great idea Vlady. How about it boo? In the spirit of childhood television and good ol' Dad, we'll give you a minute to run," Light agreed with a devious look.

"If I remember cartoons right, it's gonna be more like ten seconds," I said with fear before taking a dead sprint to the exit door.

And, just as I suspected. "And, go!" Light order just as I passed the threshold.

Perspiration from exertion and fear traced across my forehead. I hadn't had to deal with running in a long time, even in gym class. Of course, most the time I ditched, so that doesn't help anything. Ugh, I felt like my legs were on fire and not in the good way. It didn't take long for my lazy nerd legs to start slowing down, and Joker and Harley were catching up to me on some crazy pogo stick that'd make any six year old jealous.

"Come on, don't stop running now Shadow-brat. The chase is on!" Joker declared in a voice to imitate the leader of a fox hunt.

In two more jumps of his stick, Joker came down so close to me that I fell over and face planted. I was quick to roll over, but he was looming just overhead with some kind of air pump I was sure as hell would be full of Joker gas. "So much for it being flammable now!" he cackled, getting ready to pump.

He was just starting to push forward when he got completely kicked to the side by Batman. "Shadow, get to the car. There's a green switch that will activate a ghost shield to keep them out," he ordered before jumping into a full out fight with Joker.

I nodded and started running for the Batmobile. On my approach, the roof slid open and I jumped inside. Just like he said, there was a green switch. When I flicked it on, the roof slid shut and the car seemed to be powered with green energy. Unlike the Fentons, Bats focused it to just where it needed to be. I guess that's what happens when you're trying to reinvent technology with a lot more money. Even more than that, it meant there was no way Light could use my trick to get in. If she turned human, the top still wouldn't open for her, and she couldn't just turn human to get past the shield and then go intangible because the shield hugged the car. It was genius on Bruce's part, but I couldn't help but wonder if it was partly meant as a backup plan to fight me.

The moment Bats knocked Joker down enough that he wouldn't get back up, he came quickly to the car and the roof opened for him too. "Nice mask," he said as he took the driver's seat.

"Thanks, borrowed it from Robin," I replied, noticing the shake in my hands from shock.

He seemed to notice too when he commented, "You did a good job today."

"I should have listened to you. I should have worked better on getting my human side stronger and faster."

"I agree."

"If I knew how to fight like you, I could have at least protected myself from the clowns. Can you teach me? To be like you?"

"First, we'll go see Lucius, then we'll talk. But of course I'll teach you. You need it," he said. "How long are your powers out for?"

"I don't remember, a couple hours I think. Do I get a swank utility belt?"

"You couldn't be part of the family if you didn't."

"Is that a joke I hear coming from the forever serious Dark Knight?" I mocked, trying to cover up how shaky I was feeling.

"One of only ones you'll hear," he said with the slightest hint of a smile. "I've been having Lucius look into anti-ghost tech. Now I realize it will help both of us. Are you alright?"

"Always get through business first, don't ya Bruce? I'll be fine, it just… scared me, that's all. I haven't felt that helpless since those first couple of weeks living with Danny when everyone was stronger than me," I said, lightly touching my uncovered broken arm. "I'm just lucky I have the tendency to toy with whoever I'm fighting before taking the final hit, otherwise Light would have just caught me."

"One of your worse habits we'll have to work on. How did it feel to be on the receiving end of it?"

"Cruel. I'm never doin' that again, but it helped me out in the end. She's just so cold. How could I be anything like that?"

"You're not. She's what you are when you ignore your emotions and the fact that you're a good person. Never forget that."

"You always know what to say, don't you? No, she's just a version of me that's blinded to how other people feel, and for some reason she's out to wreck my life. Maybe it's because she thinks I'm weak and according to some logic, she wants to get rid of me. Maybe it's because I'm a threat to some agenda she's got going."

"It doesn't matter right now. What matters is stopping her. Knowing her motivations would be great, but you'll work better if you're not preoccupied. Leave it to me," he said with sureness.

"I've made a mess, haven't I?"

"No, you haven't," he said as he pulled into the tech lab under the Wayne Industries tower.

"So, how much research have you done in the past two days? I mean, I get you're advanced, but even making a ghost shield in so little time is nuts," I remarked as the car stopped in the middle of a tech-filled room.

"Mostly it's just modifying things we were already working on," he said as the roof slid open. "Energy fields, nanites, and lasers are old technology; all we had to do was modify it for ecto-energy or the flower blood blossoms."

"Those exist here?"

"Not naturally. Apparently a lab experiment made the mutated form of a common flower. Danny identified it when he saw it growing in the wild, so I added it into my tech," he said as we both jumped out of the car.

"So something that scares the crap out of every ghost on the planet, you decide to pick up and put on your belt? Good thing I told Danny about that flower. He wasn't supposed to see it until season three."

"Hello Mr. Wayne," Lucius greeted. "Is this a new sidekick?"

"Call her an apprentice. Penguin learned that the hard way," Bruce corrected, pulling down his cowl.

"Hi, my name's Kira Blake, or Shadowrule, obviously depending on the situation," I said, offering him my hand.

"But isn't Shadowrule a ghost?" he asked with confusion as he took my hand.

"Right now I'm supposed to be, but my powers got short circuited. I'm a half-ghost," I said with a welcoming smile.

"Interesting," he said with a look of curiosity.

"She's the reason I called about the fireproof bed earlier," Bruce said, walking past Lucius and making him turn to go with him.

"I had a team sent out to deliver it half an hour ago," he assured. "What happened?"

"Bad dreams," I replied, quickly following after them.

"Must be some dream," Lucius said. "So what brings you here?"

"I need three new utility belts and a good look at everything you've come up with for ghost defense," Bruce said briefly.

"Three?" Lucius asked in surprise.

"Her evil copy blew mine up and I need one for each of the kids."

"Which kids?"

"Me and my roommate James aka Danny Phantom, am I right Bruce?"

"Yes," he affirmed, "and you're human half's going to need a costume if you want to train to fight like me."

"So you're teaching two ghosts to fight like humans. Is that really necessary?" Lucius asked.

"Yes," Bruce and I answered at the same time.

"Alright, then I have just what you need," Lucius said, leading us to a wall of bat-styled tech. "I've had those nanites on mass production ever since you had me modify your belt. Would you like all of them done the same as that one?"

"Actually, could you add in a pressure release system? They blew up because the accelerated molecules inside had nowhere to go," I said, looking over everything.

"Alright, I can fix that quick enough," he said grabbing a small laser pen and adding small holes on the back side of each pocket minus one that was lead lined on Batman's belt.

"How did you figure out that?" Bruce asked, looking at me.

"Well, I had Clark look it over using his super-nutso vision and he told me about the nanites and a pink glow. When I tried to reach my hand inside, we noticed the nanites clumped and I couldn't do it, so I figured out about the blood blossom. So then I figured it was resistant to ecto-energy and I couldn't affect the metal itself, leaving only the air inside to be what wrecked it faster 'n Wreck-It-Ralph."

"I didn't realize something that smart could be said in such unintelligent terms," Bruce said with a surprised look on his face.

"Don't tell me I'm starting to actually make you develop a dry sense of humor! Eh, it's better than nothing," I joked. "I'm surprised you haven't realized more often than not I talk like I've lived in the sticks all my life- oh wait..."

"Very funny, I'm sure you'll have a wonderful future as a standup comedian."

"And I have turned the wit to witty!" I chanted in victory.

"Are all ghosts as strange as you?" Lucius asked with a confused look as he finished up on the pouches.

"You know, I've heard three different people say about the exact same thing as that since I got here. I might actually start to believe there's something to it, but I think it's mainly just me. Besides, I have to condition ol' Batsy to be able to see Young Blood."

"Who's Young Blood?" Bruce asked.

"A tiny little ghost squirt that can only be seen by someone with the heart and mind of a kid. Clown boy can see him. Even ended up makin' the little guy angry."

"I never would have guessed," he said with a scowl.

"Just gotta step in their shoes sometimes to beat 'em. So what kinda stuff are we getting to kick butt?" I asked, turning my attention back to the gadgets.

"Well, you've got your typical stuff, batarangs, smoke pellets, grappling hooks, you name it. I'll have to get into the safe to get you a bit of kryptonite Mr. Wayne. I've included a few experimental designs. Your tracker should be able to make a green blip for any recognizable signs of ecto-energy," Lucius started to explain.

"I wonder if it can pick up natural portals," I said, looking at the device.

"Natural portals?" Bruce asked.

"It's the only way ghosts can get out of the Ghost Zone right now unless they get Wulf's help or Vlad has made a new one, but I doubt it. The Ghost Zone has a habit of opening up natural ways for ghosts to come to the human world, but it's tricky and dangerous. The wrong portal to the human world can send you back to ancient Rome or even the dinosaurs if you're not careful. Danny and his friends were eventually supposed to get caught in a loop chasing Vlad throughout all time to stop him from messing it up. It's really just a big mess and I'd recommend not toying around with it," I explained.

"I'll keep that in mind," he said, seeming to mull it over in his head. "What else have you got Lucius?"

"I was able to make some of those wrist rays compact enough to fit on the belts. The company altered the design on those ghost containment units to be able to fit one ghost each and yet stay small enough to fit comfortably on the side of the belt," Lucius continued.

"Great, more cramped than before. Remind me not to get on your bad side," I remarked, nudging Bruce in the side.

"There's also an ecto-energy blast bomb. Harmless to humans, but dangerous for a ghost," Lucius said. "Good thing for you is it should only affect you if you're in ghost form Miss Blake."

"Good to know," I said, looking at the different devices uncomfortably. God knows any one of those could do a nice job of putting me in the hospital for a week long nap.

"If you touch the buckle plate just like this," he continued, tapping the center of the front, "it will work just like one of those specter deflectors. It only responds to touch of a hand or glove, so don't worry about it accidentally going off. That's about the best we can do for now, but I'll keep you updated if we get anything more."

"Alright, thanks Lucius. We'll see you soon, and hopefully under better circumstances," Bruce said before pulling up his cowl again. "Shadow, go sit in the car. I'll be there in a minute."

"Gotcha," I said before walking off toward the Batmobile. He must have been going to get the kryptonite. It didn't really bother me that he didn't want me there. He must have been paranoid that I might try to steal his big supply some day, or even worse I'd have another evil split. I only wished I knew what caused it.

Sure enough, just a couple minutes later he was back carrying two belts with one around his waist. "Lookin' fancy in the new accessory Bats," I said with a smile.

"Take one and give the other to Danny when we get back to the cave," he ordered.

"Alright," I said, taking the moment to clip one around my waist. "On a level of one to amazing, how do I look?"

"I'm not going to answer that."

"Still need to work on that fun-ness factor."

**So this chapter is kind of about learning through failure, so I hope you all will enjoy the process to come. There probably won't be too much big fighting for a few more chapters, so hope y'all can stand me until then ;) Anyway, see you... IN THE NEXT CHAPTER :)**


	19. Chapter 18

**Hey guys! Some major training's taking place today, with a lot of trial and error. Keep in mind Kira hasn't gotten her powers back yet, she's still got a couple hours to go. And Clever, thanks for your OCD moment, homophones always trip me up. For all I know, that might just improve my score on the ACTs :P Anyway, enjoy!**

"So, you want me to lose?" I asked, taking a fighting stance with a white staff.

"I want you to try to win," Bruce responded, looking over the scene.

"So you think I'll win?" Dick asked, standing across from me.

"Not a chance in hell I will," I said.

"Get a better attitude. Now go," Bruce ordered.

I went right for Dick, which obviously he blocked, along with every other hit I tried to make on him. It didn't take long before he got a swipe under my feet and I fell hard to the floor. A second later I had the end of his staff pressed against my chest.

"So now I've lost," I remarked.

"Don't just give up. Figure out how to get him to the ground," Bruce ordered.

I tried to scan the situation. I couldn't move my chest too much, but Dick was an idiot on one accord. With a quick kick of my foot, I knocked his leg out from under him and he fell to the floor too. In another second, I had his head lightly pinned down by the neck and I made sure I was on top of him enough so he couldn't get up.

"Good. Dick, watch your footing. Kira, quit being so offensive," Bruce said. "Start again."

"Is it really smart or safe for me to be doing this with a broken dominant hand?" I asked as I stood up.

"Your enemies don't stop because you're injured, so neither can you."

"I hate it when you make logical sense," I said, resuming my original stance.

"Go."

This time Dick tried striking first. I blocked it, but more strikes kept coming. Eventually he got me to the point of falling on my back, but on the way down I did a quick swipe under his legs, knocking him down with me.

"Did you ever think about knocking him down _before _he knocks you down?" Danny said, walking toward us.

"No D, I never would have thought that not falling on my hide would be better than making friends with the floor. But at any rate, I'd rather end it on a stalemate than a complete loss," I said, standing up again and helping Dick to his feet. "Why don't you give it a go ghost boy?"

"Please, I could just phase right through that staff and-"

"Plasmius rebuilt his toy remember? What if you had to fight one of Bruce's bad guys without your powers?" I said, tossing him the staff.

"Piece of cake," he said, taking a cocky tone as he came down and took my place.

"Go," Bruce said, sitting back with an entertained look.

It took, not even joking, two seconds for Danny to hit the ground, and I made him pay for every minute of it as I busted up into laughter. "Come on D, at this rate your dad could take you down."

"Guess I'm out of practice," he said, standing up. I was guessing his mom and dad probably had taught him a skill like that, but just like me, he started relying entirely on his ghost powers.

"I guess so," I said with a smile, taking the staff back. "Don't be so sure of yourself. In a fair fight with this family, we don't stand a chance."

"But soon you could," Bruce said, coming to stand with the group of us. "Danny, you're going to need to learn how to fight and fight well without your powers. Kira realized it the hard way so you don't have to."

"Talk about the hard way. I nearly got clowned," I said, unconsciously rubbing my arm.

"And if the two of you work hard, you shouldn't have to face that risk again," he assured.

"And exactly whose fault was it that she got ambushed?" Danny said, crossing his arms with a look of anger.

Bruce narrowed his eyes, and I knew I had to diffuse the situation before it started. "Danny, as much as I'd love to see you ladies have an argument, don't. The rebel motif is mine, remember? But in all technicalities, it was entirely my fault for not listening to him, and maybe it's good that I didn't. It ended up giving him time to escape and I got out alright; even learned a lesson. So ice boy, chill," I said.

"What lesson could possibly have taken you nearly getting killed?"

"That's just it D. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. I think that's a Kelly Clarkson song. Strangely enough, I like that one. Not really in my typical genre-"

"You could probably quit talking now," Dick said, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Right," I said, blushing a little in the face. "I'm rambling."

"Probably better that you were. Let's get back to work," Bruce said, walking back to his place as Danny moved to the opposite side.

I don't know what Danny's problem was. Maybe the pressure was getting to him. But where did he get off blaming Bruce? It wasn't his fault. I mean, I knew he never trusted him, but to act like that was just… rude. Oops, and I'm on the ground again.

_Time Skip…_

We trained for hours. Nearly every time I lost, but I was starting to get better. It was the most I could expect to do with only one hand. After all that, I ended up lounging on my bed. It was peaceful after a long day of working hard. If my guestimation* was right, my powers should return within the hour. As much as I hated feeling vulnerable, it was nice to be normal again. Not having to worry about the fire or the rage, never being consumed by myself. It would have been nice had it just stayed that way forever. I could have gone back to a normal life, and a better one than I led before. What I would have given to make that moment last forever. As a matter of fact, it did even last a bit longer.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself."

I looked down. Sure enough, I had a medallion around my neck. "Hey Clockwork. Haven't seen you in what, a week?"

"A close estimation," he responded, floating a little closer to me.

"So what brings you here? I mean, other than losing my powers, nothing special's happened today."

"But something has happened in recent history."

"Oh, of course, Light. Popped in to tell me how much I've screwed up?"

"Well, not in that crude of terms," he said, still keeping his rather emotionless tone. "I've been looking into this world's timeline. There are serious dangers ahead."

"Been in this world less than a week and we've already screwed everything up. Go figure. I would ask how this all ends for me, but I know that would break your whole non-interference policy. So I'll ask a more civil question. How are you?"

"I would have been better had a portal not opened to another universe in the middle of my home."

"Well, sorry about that. It really did mess things up. I would have figured only me and Danny would have been pulled through."

"These discrepancies seem to blind my sight. Even I did not foresee those events."

"But now you've keyed into this timeline, so you know the future of this world. Is Batman still killed by Mr. Freeze?"

"You know I can't tell you that information."

"Right. I was just hoping that everything would unfold right in the end. Sad way to go really. Worst episode ever. But on the reason you came here, how did I end up making that a duplicate with a mind of its own? That is, if I'm allowed to ask."

"It's a process you wouldn't understand," he said.

"I'm human right now. About the only place my energy is going is to my brain. Try me. I may surprise the all-seeing time king yet."

"Very well," he said with a slight smile. "By disassociating yourself from the duplication, it became more of an echo than a controlled entity. It was… to put it in easier terms, directly telepathically linked to you. It was a second Shadowrule simply copying you. That all could have been fine, but there was one moment when you severed the connection."

"You mean when the light in my eyes went out?"

"Very perceptive. You lost control for just long enough for her to emerge."

"And what made her so much different than me?"

"You were thinking about fear. More specifically, the fear of hurting a friend. So at the moment your telepathic link was broken, it was feeling a negative emotion."

"And fear is an emotion everyone wants to stop, so she didn't want to have her first emotion," I said with realization. "That's why she doesn't have any empathy and has my sarcastic attitude."

"That's right. And because she could suppress a negative emotion that she saw as bad and you embraced it-"

"She saw me as the weaker of the two of us. No attachment means she has no reason to worry about our life, and she has no reason to keep my secrets safe. It's all a matter of psychology. She had the innocence of a newborn and in her first moment she fought against one of the principle emotions that makes a person human. That's nuts."

"So you do understand."

"Of course, it makes so much sense now. She was made because for a split second, I was feeling my most human."

"And in a sense, you made an entity that is you at your 'most ghost;' an exact opposite of you in that moment."

"So I wouldn't be a nice ghost?"

"Most high powered ghosts aren't known for being on the side you consider heroes."

"And you get past that little unwritten rule by remaining neutral. And I should be fine as long as I never ignore my humanity."

"You're right, you did surprise me, when I first saw this conversation," he said, switching from the form of an old man to a child.

"Cheater cheater," I said, waving a finger side to side.

"There's something else preoccupying you," he said with a slight frown.

"I guess there is. Can I ask just one more question?"

"If you must."

"Would it ever be possible to be human again?"

"Why would you want that?"

"Well, flying through walls is fun and all, but I can't help the fact that I'm not made for this kind of thing. This is never really going to feel normal. Plus, when I go back to my family, I don't want to return a freak or have people chasing me for being one of the strongest ghosts in all the multiverse."

"There are a few ways I won't disclose for the time being, but make sure you're certain when the decision comes. Now I must go," he said, floating about a foot back.

"What about the medallion?" I asked, sitting up.

"Keep it. It may be useful to you," he said. "Time in."

And with that, he disappeared into a spin of a minute hand. I took the medallion in my good hand and looked it over. If there was one thing I couldn't stand about Clockwork, it's that he never quits speaking in puzzles. I'm sure he and Riddler could be great friends.

**Lovely! I finally thought of a reason for all of this. You guys got me thinking on it, I've been mulling it over for a while, and I decided now would be a perfect time for it. Hope you enjoy the explanation, it was kind of a tricky process to think through. After reading to much _Batman and Psychology_, I figured the answer had to be a bit of a domino affect. Anyways, see you in the next one, bye!**

*though not technically a word, guestimation is used as a slang term in my area for where you're really uncertain about what's going to happen, but you predict the outcome anyway off of pure gut feeling. Just wanted to get that out there in case Iowa is the only place that talks funny.


	20. Chapter 19

**Oh my gosh, it's been a week! Sorry it took me so long. Between ACT studies and friends and fighting the school board, I haven't had much time on my hands. Not to mention I've rewritten this chapter about four times and this is the only one I've liked. Anyway, I'm thinking with ghost regeneration, Kira shouldn't have a broken arm by next chapter (of course it will have been a couple days since the events of this one), so the big battle's just around the corner. I figure the playing field should at least be a bit more level before the fight of Yin and Yang. So getting back to the topic at hand, enjoy!**

"Hey, at least I finally _won_ won for once," I said with a smile looking at Dick.

"Are you sure you didn't use any super strength?" he questioned, crossing his arms.

"Not an ounce. That was difficult. I liked it. Lot more fun winning when it takes an effort. Is this how you guys always feel?" I asked, looking between him and Bruce.

"Every time," Bruce said with a smile at the edge of his lips.

"Three nights of training and I'm already beating Robin with one hand. That's not even possible," I said, dropping to the ground and laying down on the floor.

"I did it in two," Danny remarked.

"And ever so humble," I joked. "We ready to take on the world now?"

"You're ready to take on Robin," Bruce said, reaching down and pulling me back to my feet.

"Eh, that qualifies as awesome right?" I said.

"Kind of?"

"Don't ruin my moment Bruce. You were supposed to say, 'Yes Kira, that was great and amazing. Here's your complimentary cape for proving yourself as a member of the family.'"

"There's not a complimentary cape."

"At least I wouldn't get mine caught in the cogs of a clock tower," I joked.

"That happened one time," he defended.

"One time that almost got you killed or unmasked, just saying. What do you think D? Wouldn't I look awesome in a cape?" I said, looking at Danny.

"I think you'd look ridiculous," he responded.

"Such a loving brother. I should be all dark and mysterious and cool, that way when I go ghost it's even more surprising. It's all about dramatic effect right?"

"That's the idea," Bruce said, walking over to one of the slide poles and going down to the bottom level.

"Watcha doin'?" I questioned, floating down after him.

"Waiting for a delivery. He's supposed to be here in three minutes," he said, leaning against the Batmobile and checking his watch.

"Who is? What delivery?" I questioned, floating in front of him.

"It's a surprise," he answered curtly.

"Oh come on Bruce, I hate surprises!" I whined. "You saw where the last surprise you tried to pull on me went."

"Just be patient," he ordered.

"I'm not a patient person," I complained, landing on the floor and leaning against the car right next to Bruce.

"Looks like you won't have to wait long," he said, looking down one of the entrance tunnels.

"Why not?"

"He's a minute and a half early."

"How can you tell?"

"His bike's waking up the bats," he explained, closing his eyes for a moment.

"I get it. That's why they're squeaking," I said, closing my eyes to listen too. "Like a natural intruder alarm. They all scream out a warning to each other, and eventually to you. And he's obviously a friend because he's not setting off the alarm. It's a surprise for me from a male friend of yours on a bike. I think I know who it is. Not much of a surprise now."

"I didn't expect it to be," he said as I opened my eyes to see Oliver Queen riding in with a package on the front of his motorcycle.

"Not as cool as yours," I whispered to Bruce. "So I take it this was a little mini-lesson in Batcave security?"

"No, it was a short lesson on focus and a good way to pass the time without you complaining."

"You break my ectoplasm filled heart," I joked, clutching at my chest.

"Heyya Bruce," Oliver greeted, getting off the side of his bike and kicking down the kickstand.

"Hey Oliver," Bruce greeted, walking toward him and reaching out his hand.

"Oh come on Bruce, we're in a cave; you don't have to be proper. Be normal boys and high five or bro hug or something," I scolded, floating into the air and sitting cross-legged like a kindergartner.

"Oh, that will never feel normal," Oliver said as an uncomfortable look crossed his face.

"You're telling me. It's kind of like when you sit on a stool and you're kind of rested because you're sitting down but you're not because there's nothing to press your back against, except it's everywhere. Not too comfortable at all. Anyway, what's in the box?" I said, looking at the bike.

"Well as it turns out," he said, sending a cocky grin towards Bruce, "there is one thing the world's greatest detective has no experience in."

"Well, not enough experience in to help out my new partner with," Bruce defended.

"Yeah, I get it, you're both pretty. You're giving me too many hints, now I know what it is already. A new toy to play with, Arrow style," I said with excitement.

"Been giving her lessons?" Oliver asked.

"Just subliminal messages over breakfast," Bruce responded.

"That was a joke, add one more to my score board," I said, landing next to the box. "Come on Arrow, show me what's behind door number one."

"Just the best piece of archery equipment Bruce's money could buy," he responded, opening up the case.

"Aw! She. Is. Beautiful," I said, picking up the bow from the case. It was shining, midnight black compound bow with a peephole sight and an odd glass screen rather than the typical distance sights. It had buttons all down the side, so it could only mean something cool. "What does this do?"

"Bat-kids and their perceptive nature," Oliver said with a laugh.

"I'm not a bat-kid," I defended. "I'm a shadow kid, or a Fenton kid, or a Blake kid. I can't be a bat-kid because Bruce still doesn't like it when I call him dad."

"Is that another one for your score board?" he asked.

"No, that goes untallied. The chalk ran out my second day here. Now come on, what does it do?"

"Anything you could need to make the best shot. Night vision, infrared, sonic; you can see anything with that. Not to mention it can lock onto a target and tell you the best angle, even accounting for wind," he explained.

"That is ten times too awesome," I said in total awe.

"Always the best nonlethal shot, and if you can think of a trick shot, so can it. Not to mention she won't disappear when you change back to your human side."

"But let's see how she works vise versa," I said, going ghost.

"Why do you two insist on calling it a she?" Bruce questioned, shaking his head.

"'Cause she's feisty like a girl," I answered. "And don't think I haven't heard you whispering to the Batmobile. Believe me, you definitely weren't calling me a good girl, especially not since I reprogrammed your username in the bat computer to Bats3Cats99. Oh look, she gets an upgrade."

"I told you never to mention that again," Bruce said, looking slightly annoyed and embarrassed at the same time.

"You wouldn't be so offended if it weren't true," I teased. "But seriously, check this out. It's like it fused with the one I made. Now it's super awesome!"

It was true. In ghost form, it retained the red glow of my energy, and the colour changed to match. Instead of the dials I did have to change the arrow charges, it had activator buttons in just the right place so if I reached any specific finger just a little bit while aiming it, I could hit them with no problem and without wrecking my aim.

"And what's better is when you're in human form, it can easily fold to a smaller size and fit in a bag, case, or a backpack," Oliver added.

"But that doesn't mean it's okay to take to school," Bruce said, shooting me a warning look.

"Fine, party pooper anyway. If I have to fight ghosts at school it'll be strictly hands on," I said, changing back into the normal me.

"And, I have this for you," Oliver said, pulling out a cylindrical quiver filled with arrows.

"Let me see," I said, taking one of the arrows out and discovering it didn't have a tip. "Oh I get it," I said, putting it back and strapping the quiver on. "I just press one of these buttons on the strap and it screws on a tip right?"

"Try it," he said with a smile.

I pressed the button that was labeled with a picture of a regular arrowhead and turned my head over my shoulder to watch as the magic happened. There was a whirring noise and then the arrows turned just slightly before one was ejected into a clamp on the outside it could quickly be removed from.

"Me likey," I said, looking at Oliver.

"And it has a safety mechanism," Bruce added.

"And what's that?" I asked.

"If your body temperature's so hot you go into one of your… meltdowns, there's a temperature gauge in the quiver that communicates with the bow, disengaging the targeting system and locking down any of the arrow types that could be lethal," he warned.

"So I can't kill anyone with the bow if I get too hot headed," I said, looking down at the bow in my hand and tightening my grip. "The rage starts and the tools stop. Great, better start my Zen training now."

"It'll get easier," he assured. "And to take the first step towards that, I have something else for both you and Danny."

"So I'm included now too?" Danny said, coming down the slide pole. Never one much for using ghost powers constantly. Of course, if I didn't my core would overheat, so we both had our reasons.

"And I'm never in on the action," Dick complained, lying on his stomach looking down at us from the level above.

"Says the boy that got a jet pack," I shot back.

"A jet pack and a rocket launcher," Bruce corrected, walking over to the Batmobile and sliding back the top.

"So, what's behind door number two?" I asked, following him again.

"What's necessary to complete the surprise," he said.

"The not so surprising surprise," I said.

"Well this part should be at least a bit surprising," he said, pulling out a cardboard box.

"And you didn't even put a bow on it. Pft, shame on you," I joked, staring intently at it as he put it on the hood of the Batmobile.

"Go ahead, open it," Bruce instructed, stepping aside as Danny came and joined me.

"Alright, you take one side, I take the other," I said to Danny.

"Okay," he said, making a show of not showing interest.

"Such a male," I said, grabbing my corner.

"Such a female," he mocked, taking his.

"Three," I said.

"Two," he continued.

"One," I finished before we both pulled the flaps of cardboard open.

Danny and I each pulled out new costumes. Mine had black, skin tight pants, and an armoured chest section with my emblem on it under a black leather jacket, with a hooded cloak specially made to have the quiver fit just right so I could still grab out arrows no problem, and a mask. "Rockin' the stealth suit! Me likey again," I said.

"Awesome," Danny said, looking at his. It was pretty simple. It was pretty much exactly like the hazmat suit he had in ghost form, but with armour, a hood to cover his hair, and a mask. Nothing to write home about.

"I figured you would want something to help stealth combat," Bruce said to me. "And I thought you would prefer something simple because you'd rather fight in ghost form anyway," he said to Danny. "And you didn't seem like the cape type."

"You got that one right," Danny agreed.

"See, I was right. There is a complimentary family cape," I said with a smile. I went invisible and phased out of the training outfit I was wearing and into the new costume before going visible again. "How do I look?" I asked before flicking up the hood like they always do on Assassin's Creed.

"Like a caped ninja," Danny said. "Did you just change right there?"

"Does it matter?"

"I don't know," he said, rubbing his neck.

"Any normal boy would have absolutely no problem with that, but I got stuck with mister awkward blush-a-lot," I muttered.

"Anyway, I've got to go. There's a jet and a French model waiting for me, so," Oliver said, smiling and walking back to his bike.

"Show off," I said. "But really, thanks Ollie, you're awesome."

"Thanks, but I think I already knew that," he said, mounting his bike.

"Don't let it go to your head island boy," I responded with a smile before he started his engine and screeched his tires and he spun around to go out.

"And they say I'm the playboy," Bruce said after he'd left.

"Hey, you've got some girls in your time, he just does it for the enjoyment and you do it for the cover. I'm fairly certain you're the only guy on the planet that wouldn't want to be Oliver Queen," I said.

"You're generalizing a bit," he said.

"Yeah, probably, but I figure about a million other people want to be Batman so, you know, you're cooler in that aspect."

"And which one did you like more when you thought we were just television characters?"

"Is this one of those moments where I should lie to make you feel better or state the obvious?"

"I get it."

"If it makes you feel any better, he's my favourite but you see a lot more Batman on my DVD and book shelves. Along with action figures and blankets and lunch boxes and-well-everything."

"And why's that?"

"Well, he may be my idol but there's a lot more bat stuff at Walmart."

**P.S. Walmart thing? Story of my life. :( See you all in the next chapter!**


	21. Chapter 20

**This was starting to get a bit long, so I left it at a cliffy. Sorry it took so long. I was having so much writer's block trying to figure out how was the best of ways to do this, I started working on a little side project in hopes of getting 'the feeling'. Needless to say, it did help a bit, and it made for some great long distance plans that probably won't come out for a long time, but they sound pretty sweet. Anyway, the final fight is finally happening! Then on to some more interesting plans in store for future Bat-tastic encounters. Enjoy!**

"Al, I've accepted it, I'm terrible at chess," I said, knocking down my king.

"You've won three times," he assured. "I'm certain you're not terrible."

"I didn't win three times, you let me win. Every time I won you _accidentally _moved your queen in the line of one of my knights," I complained.

"Well at least you have the eye to realize I was," he said.

"Yeah, after the third time. I bet the only person here I could actually beat is Danny, and maybe Dick. What are they doing anyway?"

"I wasn't informed," he responded simply. "All I was told was that you are not to go to the cave until Master Bruce calls."

"I really don't like him keeping me out of the loop," I said, leaning back in my chair.

"He has his reasons."

"I know," I sighed, "but I hate secrets. That probably makes me a hypocrite though. My whole life's an enigma."

"Then tell me about it," he assured. "I'm always an open ear."

"Well, things weren't very good," I said, rubbing my neck. "There was an-"

I was interrupted by a beep coming from my pocket. Batwave. After pulling it out, I pressed a thumb onto the flashing bat and Bruce's face appeared on screen. "Light's made a move," he said quickly.

"Got it," I said, clicking off the phone and pushing it into my pocket before phasing down into the cave.

Bruce and Dick were rushing to put on their suits. Danny already had his on (probably used my cheat skills), and was waiting on the other two. Clark was standing in the corner. He was probably there for backup. Barbara was just running in. Bruce must have been worried if she was leaving college for the night.

"Where is she?" I questioned, landing next to the costume case.

"Trying to destroy every building in a ten block radius centralized around the police station. Reports are coming in that she's stationed herself there," Bruce reported, flipping up his cowl.

"Sounds just like me. Probably had a throne wheeled in too," I remarked, grabbing my suit and rushing to get dressed.

"You're not her. Don't think that for one second or she wins," Bruce said, resting a hand on my shoulder.

"Today I'm going to prove I'm not," I said, running my cape through my fingers. "How many hostages does she have?"

"How do you know that?" Clark questioned, eyeing me suspiciously.

"Why wouldn't I know that?" I said quietly.

"She's got my dad," Barbara said solemnly, resting a fist against her hip.

"And Ethan," Bruce added. "Any police officer or detective that was in the building."

"And she's pulling in more from the radius right?" I said, turning to look at Barbara with steadfast certainty.

"Yeah," she affirmed.

"Alright, we need to get moving and fast. If I'm right, Light won't have any problems tearing out gooey bits and what have you. Danny, I need you to distract Vlad. He'll try to get in between Light and me. Bats, I'm sure you could use a little rematch with Skulker. Kick him a good one. Robin, Batgirl, can you handle the clowns?" I said, finishing putting on my gear and walking to the center of the group.

"Sure, we can take them down easy," Robin said, twirling his staff.

"What am I supposed to do?" Superman said, sounding slightly annoyed.

"Your job! Smallville, your job is the most important job in the universe. With what I'm going to do, you're going to figure out my secret no matter what, so I have to trust you. I need you to keep me safe, but not _me _me. I'm depending on you to keep Light safe. Take this containment device," I said, tossing him one of the mini thermoses. "Use it to catch Light if there's any imminent threat to her. She's in a place filled with cops. Someone might get trigger happy; it may be me."

"I need you in the room with me. Conceal yourself so well that I wouldn't recognize you. Get yourself caught. Demand to go to the police station. If they question you, tell them to relay a message to Light. Tell them you know about Meg. Leave it as vague as that. I know if you get into trouble, you can get out undamaged. I get it's not really your style, but it's probably the most important thing you can do. I need a guardian angel right now," I said.

"Alright," he said with the most trust I'd ever heard him direct toward me, "I'll do it."

"Kira, you're heating up," Bruce said, looking down at a little handheld device. It must have been getting readings from the gauge in my quiver.

"I believe that's the panic setting in," I said with a shake in my voice.

"Don't worry, the good guys always win," Danny assured.

"Guess it's time we really figure out if I am one, isn't it? It'll probably be fine. I mean, for once I'm actually hoping that I am," I said, subconsciously rubbing my arm again. "Anyways, we better get going. There're a lot of people that need our help."

"You need to calm down so that quiver doesn't lock up," Robin said, stepping out in front of me.

"No worries, I'm gonna do what I always do anyway: fight with words," I said, walking over to the ledge of the level. "Now I need a ride," I said.

"Yours is the ATV over by the bikes," Batman said, grabbing onto the slide pole and heading over to the Batmobile.

"Figure I didn't have the balance?" I questioned, jumping right off the ledge and slowing my fall before I touched the ground.

"That's exactly what I was thinking," he responded.

"Well, you thought right," I said, mounting the ATV and putting on a helmet as Robin, Batgirl, and Danny all came down.

When I started the engine, a line of red light traced its way along the corners of the black chassis. When it revved up, it purred with quiet power. Bruce always did get me the best toys.

Batgirl and Robin mounted up on theirs. Danny decided to just fly alongside the Batmobile, and Superman ran out 'faster than a speeding bullet', no doubt to get ready for his lady in distress routine. He really did have the most important part, and I still hated his guts.

I knew taking down Light was going to be my defining moment. If anything went wrong, I don't know how I could deal with myself, but something could always go wrong. That something was what was making my hands shake.

After I saw Danny and the Batmobile go out, I sped off through the tunnel. I hadn't driven a four-wheeler in a long time, but I remembered the lessons my dad taught me. Just keep focus and carry on. If there was one thing I loved more than the Earth itself, it was thinking and driving. Actually, I hated it with a passion now that I think of it. It brought back a lot of memories that, at the time, were so far from being realistic again that they hurt. Not to mention that I had to keep remembering I was driving into a possible death sentence.

After getting out of the tunnel, I paid close attention to where Batman was heading, then I broke away from him and took a shorter route through a few alleyways.

"Where are you going?" Batman questioned over the communicator in my helmet.

"Shortcut. I need to get there a little early," I responded, weaving around a few trash cans.

"If this is too much for you-"

"Shut up. I know what I have to do, and hopefully it'll keep you guys from getting killed," I interrupted, accelerating as fast as I could go. "If I'm right, I should get there three minutes before you guys. More than enough time to get myself killed or save the city."

"If you don't walk in there knowing you're going to come out, don't walk in there," he ordered, sounding more than a little concerned.

"Oh, sorry-pshht! I have a bit of a spotty connection," I said, reaching for the off switch on my helmet.

"My tech doesn't get spotty," he defended, sounding pissed.

"Well, maybe that's just the sound of me turning off all communications," I said, hitting the switch.

_If I get out of this alive, _I thought, _Bruce is going to kill me. _At that point, I was just two turns from being within the radius. Police had already cleared out the area. It was only a matter of time before I was either caught and dragged back to the police station, or breaking through its front doors.

Crazily enough, I made it to the second option. Of course, I was being heavily tailed by Skulker, but I just barely outran him, crashing through the front entry doors without getting off of the ATV. Of course, not really crashing. I made it go intangible, phasing gently through before screeching the tires and leaving long black tire marks on the tile floor. I felt bad for the janitor that got to clean that one up.

I pulled my helmet off and flicked up my hood before even turning to face Skulker. "Hey ghost creep, get out of here before I beat you so hard your mother cries," I ordered, concealing my voice and reaching for the wrist ray on my belt.

"You think an insignificant human like you could stop me? Your pelt isn't fit to be my doormat. I am Skulker, the Ghost Zone's-" I was counting on the monologue.

That was the moment when I shot him with the wrist ray. Turns out, Lucius gave it a bit of an upgrade, and one hell of a punch, added to me boosting it with a little of my own power. Skulker went crashing into the wall, being rained on by bits of the structure that had been knocked loose.

"Very good boo! Skulker, go deal with the other bat brats," came a sarcastic voice and a slow clap from behind me. "Lose your powers again or did Batsy make a house rule against being a superhero?"

"Neither, I just liked the outfit better. Can't you see how it matches my soul?" I quipped, turning around to face her.

"Alright Sam," she said, crossing her arms. "So, who's that little guy friend you sent over?"

"Oh, you know how it is, boy meets girl, girl tells him to go screw himself, boy ends up trapped by girl's evil duplicate. It's a classic love story failure."

"That's the sarcasm of fear. Getting scared I'll share your little secret?"

"Not in the slightest," I responded. "Unlike you little Lighty, I feed on emotions. They're my driving force. You, well, you just expect everyone to be as messed up as you, don't you?"

"As messed up as me?" she questioned with a laugh. "Only someone truly messed up would ignore the logic that it pays to work for the bad guys."

"And what does it pay with?" I asked, walking over to catch a better glimpse of some hostages before turning back to her. "What do you want? Revenge? I never did a single thing to you. Power? I already have that. Or are you really just the cliché 'this town ain't big enough for the both of us' kind of villainess?"

"You really don't get it, do you? I'm destroying weakness, ending secrets, and stopping the oppression you and Bat-breath might pose on this city," she responded, a playful look flickering in her eyes. She really was enjoying herself.

"Oh now I get it! Little Lighty wants to stick it to the man. You, my ridiculous copy, were born a rebel and an idiot," I said, catching a glimpse of Detective Bennett in the corner of my eye. He looked safe for the most part.

"Ridiculous am I? You're the one walking around the room with your guard down to check on some stupid cops. What good have cops ever done us?"

"We are the spawn of one, remember?" I said, turning towards her again.

"That's about all any of them have ever done."

"Taught us how to ride a bike."

"Laughed at us the first time we face planted off a skateboard."

"Played Mario Kart with us in his free time."

"Never had free time."

"Threatened our first boyfriend."

"How is that a plus?" she questioned.

"I thought it was pretty cool," I said with a smirk.

"How about kicking us out of the house when he saw our… most recent romantic endeavors?" she said, returning a smirk of her own.

"He wasn't ready. None of them were. It was my fault for being so blunt about it. They just needed some time to adjust; time they didn't get," I replied, looking down.

"No, because you went and got yourself whisked away into a different dimension, totally ignoring the past. You were Mom and Dad's biggest disappointment after all," she said with an edge of victory to her voice. Did I really sound like that much of an ass when I was being smug?

"Well," I said, turning my back to her and slowly reaching my hand down to my belt, "I may have been a disappointment, but you would have broken their hearts."

I was facing Ethan. He looked puzzled, but I gave him a wink and tossed him a laser pen to cut off the cuffs that he and his fellow captives were being held in. He gave me a nod and I turned back to Light.

"What do I care about their hearts? Actually, I care so much I'd rip them out of their chests!"

"Oh, temper temper Lighty, that's an emotion," I said, circumnavigating the room again to get the attention away from Ethan's escape attempt.

"But an emotion both you and I thrive on," she said, standing tall and shaking back to her arrogant, evil self.

"Well, you just struck a very similar emotion from me. Not many people can get away with threatening my parents, especially not you," I said, narrowing my eyes.

"Our parents, remember? And if I'm correct, you weren't the godsend of a child either," she said, smirking all the brighter.

"I didn't do anything that a normal teenager wouldn't do. Doesn't make me any better, but let's be honest, Mom and Dad did the same things when they were kids. The rebel children of rebel parents who, one of which, came from rebel parents. Honestly, our family's freakin' awesome, and I can't wait to get back to them while Clockwork holds you under canister arrest," I said, stepping closer to her.

"And how do you expect to catch me?" she asked, stepping closer.

"First, by distracting you," I responded, now standing only a foot **(about 30 cm for anyone not in the US) **away from her.

"And how do you intend on doing that?"

"Oh, just something like this," I said before grabbing the side of her face and pressing my lips against hers.

"Well," she said, pushing back after a moment, "I always wondered how good of a kisser I am. So far, not impressed."

"Well, it wasn't meant to be impressive, it just got me close enough to do this," I said before letting out a ghostly wail into her face.

"Ugh!" she shouted, standing up from the rubble pile in the wall she had been knocked into. "Kissin' me and wrecking your secret just so you could shout in my face? No wonder Meg doesn't want you."

"Like you'd be her type either Miss Dark-Side. I'm the Jedi and you're the storm trooper, i.e., I'm ten times cooler than you," I said, charging a deep-red ectoblast in my right hand.

"And I'm about to wreck you like Qui-Gon Jinn," she replied, letting her body burst into flames.

"Now that's just hurtful," I replied before hurling the blast at her and jumping to the side as she charged at me. I was too hot for the bow. It made a slight vibration when it deactivated. There was one power that could do me good though.

"Using the dodge and run technique? I take it Batman taught you that," she said, turning around.

"Yep, and our baby cousin taught me this one," I said, letting an ecto-charged snowball form in my hand. "Do you wanna build a snowman?"

Sure enough, my aim was a little off and it only snagged her side, but I got a good chuckle out of it. That was soon interrupted as she flew right at me, punching me with a hit so hard I flew right back into the wall she had hit earlier, doing enough damage to break right through it. We weren't doing the police any favours. But before I had time to recover, she pulled me up and hit me again, throwing me into the next wall.

"That's not very nice," I grunted, encasing my body in a sheet of snow, hoping that cooling her down as she attacked would slow her down.

"Shut up Shadow, nothing you say means anything to me," she said, grabbing me and turning us both intangible before flying straight up.

"Let go of me!" I shouted, struggling from her grip, which must have been about ten percent stronger than my current level. I just couldn't feel angry. I didn't want to. I hadn't let her get under my skin and I was paying for it. Sure I was getting hot, but not hot enough.

"Actually, I figured we'd go check on the Bats. They're all close enough to pop by for a quick visit," she said before turning tangible and blasting me into a nearby building before I could catch what was going on.

I broke through the roof and landed square in the middle of a metal-grate flooring right between a fighting Robin and Harley Quinn. I let out a groan and looked up at the confused pair before taking note of my surroundings. It wasn't quite flooring. I was lying in a dent on a walkway overlooking large metal containers. Each was filled with bright green fluids that I'm sure couldn't be good for anyone. It was obviously Ace Chemicals, and the whole crew had ended up there. I had a bad feeling it might have been planned.

"Oh boo, you're going to love this," Light said, floating in through the ceiling.

I had a sinking feeling I wouldn't.

_To Be Continued…_

* * *

**Small author's FYI, I didn't forget about two important people someone with a close eye might have seen I've left out. They're going to make it into the second part.**


	22. Chapter 21

**And the day of plot-twisting this fanfiction will never forget. Things have gone nuts. This little piece is dedicated to my friend BM, you know your initials. You keep asking what happens next and here it is. Anyway, love you guys, and here's the continuation of last chapter. By!**

"Danny, trade up!" I shouted, getting up and running towards Vlad as Danny ran towards Light. I needed someone with a different variety of power to cool off the hothead, and my ice powers weren't nearly strong enough.

"If you can't even defeat yourself, how do you expect to beat me?" Vlad sneered, splitting into five copies.

"I would say… easily," I said, making nine extra copies. Overkill was my middle name.

And on that flip of a dime, my duplicates and I split up and attacked each Vlad in pairs. As strong as Vlad was, not even he could stand up against my pure energy. While all of my duplicates held nearly as much strength as I did, his were split, getting a weaker force from his limited supply. They fairly well popped out of existence if you hit them hard enough. So, as his numbers went down, I reduced mine to conserve power, until it was down to one Vlad and two Shadowrules.

"Come on Vlady, don't tell me you're getting feeble in your old age," I quipped, taking a fighting stance where I could easily shoot an ectoblast at him when the need arose.

"Quite the opposite really, and it appears, you lack the intelligence to understand our plan just like the common youth," he returned, the ever-present smugness in his voice reaching an all time high.

"I have a good idea, but for the moment, my mission is to stop you," I said, finally going ghost and shooting a large green ectoblast at him. As much as I'd love to use my full strength or even give him a few third degree burns, I figured it wouldn't be very safe in a factory filled with unstable chemicals.

"Toning it down Shadow? My, we really are acting like children today," he said, deflecting it to the ceiling above me with a quick mirror shield, making a few bits of roofing crumble down over my head. I would have let him get under my skin for the extra power, but when I got angry, I got sloppy, and I figured that day was not the day to be stupid.

"More like… reinventing myself," I said, grabbing two smoke pellets out of my belt and throwing them at spread lengths across me and Vlady's battle ground. Though the smoke really only served as a distraction, it did give me enough time to smack a super-powered punch into a bemused creep's jaw before it dissipated.

"It appears more so that you're copying one flying rodent you've become acquainted with," he sneered before sending a torrent of energy disks at me which, even with my shielding, blew me back a bit.

"Actually," I responded, charging my fists and rushing towards him, "bats are from their own order, chiroptera, totally not rodents. Get your facts straight." Plasmius snagged my fist midair, but without skipping a beat, I let a small ectoblast leave my eye, stinging his hand enough for him to lose his grip. Then I let my power-charged fists do the pummeling. It took until he got a hand in between us and blasted me in the gut before I was off of him, and across the room, and hitting some metal railing with the not-so-satisfying crunch of metal. Oh, that hit did not feel good.

"Oh dear, don't you know everything," he said, looking cocky as he floated up and towards me, eventually close enough to get the towering effect he was looking for.

"No, but I do know one more thing," I said, standing up straight and 'dusting' off my outfit. Honestly, it just looked cool, and they always did it in the movies, so I had to do it. I'm a teenager and an impressionable little child, give me a break.

"And what might that be?" he asked with a smirk.

"After tonight, you'll wish you were back in Amity failing to coax Maddie over with chocolates and flowers," I said, letting a ball of red energy form all the way around my body, glowing brightly, and punching up towards Vlad with a fist, making the whole ball form into a strong and concentrated ectoblast. When it hit, it seemed to hurt, a lot, but not as much as my words.

My comment seemed to have struck a chord as he went from his usual talkative, snarky self to a much meaner, angrier, and less talkative other self that I had a feeling I'd get along with just fine. Even though anger makes me sloppy, I at least get an extra charge. Vlady just gets sloppy.

"Oh come on," I said after I dodged an ectoblast he sent my way, "don't tell me the nice lady broke little Vlady's heart. Nobody wants that."

"You know nothing child," he said, nearly a shout, using his energy to construct a violet blade.

"Haven't we been through this already? I know everything, especially about girl troubles," I said, pulling out my bow to use like a staff and block his dangerous attacks.

Apparently all of that time practicing with Robin paid off. Vlad was a terrible close-combat fighter when it came to Bat-family standards. I had the construct knocked out of his hand in no time, and I _totally _did _not _send a victory glance toward Batman before Vlad regained his bearings. Okay, I totally did, and Batsy caught it with a smirk before skillfully capturing Skulker in one of the mini-thermos things on his belt. Then he turned to help his brood (hehe, irony, totally had to) take down Joker and Harley Quinn.

Just then, two bodies came smashing through the ceiling, landing with a man in shades and a leather jacket smashing into the grated floor. I knew from experience, that did not feel very nice, but when I recognized who it was, it didn't matter.

"Supe! When I said unrecognizable, you really went for it," I called to the quickly recovering man.

"Batman's not the only one that can go undercover," he said before turning back to the red-clad woman who had smashed him there. I nearly teared up. I got the stuck-on-the-farm reporter boy to actually be a badass for once. But then I thought back to the other body.

Spectra? I hadn't expected her to show up to the party, but that gave me a crazy thought. If she was there and I had no clue, had she been following me the whole time? The answer: most likely, as she was strong enough to be giving a slightly upgraded Superman a run for his money. Oh, and just an FYI, when I say slightly upgraded, I mean pretty much Bats gave him a specter deflector and a tech upgrade so his fists could actually do some ghostly harm. But when she hit the Man of Steel and it actually knocked him back, I felt a little concerned.

"Tisk tisk, look at poor Daniel. It seems to me that he's about to be in for some trouble," Vlad said, pulling my concentration back into what he was doing.

"What are you talking about Vlad?" I questioned, staring into his cold, red eyes.

"Take a look for yourself," he said, gesturing in the direction about a hundred degrees to my left.

My head turned and I caught sight of the ghost boy. Light had him pinned against the railing, leaning dangerously over one of the toxic green vats. Then I noticed it. Danny was smirking. He was thinking of something, but so was I.

"This is where Joker was made," I breathed with full realization before turning back to Vlad. "Can those chemicals affect our already altered genetic structure?" I questioned, a feeling of fright overwhelming me.

"Having not done any major tests on it, I'm not too sure myself," he said with a wicked grin. "For Daniel's sake, I hope it isn't. It seems as though he's about to go intangible down into the chemicals to escape Light."

"No!" I shouted, sprinting towards him but being cut short when Vlad tackled me to the floor.

I was trapped underneath him. It was no use trying to get _up _and get away. And I was on a clock for Danny. He needed me before his own feeling of security ended up killing him, or worse. I had to think. The four capes were all tied down fighting the other bad guys, the only one really taking notice to the situation was Batman, and that was only because I was pinned down, but he couldn't catch a break from his fight with Joker long enough to help me out. Superman was pretty much out of helping range. He and Spectra had crashed out of the building a while ago. The wonder twins Batgirl and Robin were caught up, Robin having some major issues with the hyenas Joker called in and Batgirl dealing with Harley Quinn.

But Danny… I noticed the very moment his skin started to go intangible, and I knew what I had to do. I started to slightly copy his tactic, going intangible, but I stopped at a short hover just below the grates. Before he had the chance to go down himself, I flew at him at my top speed, knocking him out of the way before…

I was staring up at the pale imitation of myself. The moment seemed to freeze. She stared back at me with vicious red eyes. They held a murderous glint that would have shook me to the core if they had any longer. Her black hair looked wild against her downward facing head. If there was any moment in my life where I truly felt helpless-truly felt weak-it was that one, but I wasn't weak enough to make one last intelligent act. At the exact same moment as her hands started charging, mine reached for a capture device in my utility belt. I wasn't going out without a fight. So, in the exact same moment a blood red light started coming towards me, a pale blue one latched onto her. The moment before I was hit, I was throwing the device up over the railing, knowing that after it landed on the grate, it would finish catching her. I wasn't going to be defeated in failure, if that makes sense. I wasn't going to let that crazy copy escape. That was the moment the sting of the shield-proof ectoblast hit me. It really didn't even need to be. I didn't have time to raise my shield _and _play hero. Or was I a hero? I did just save Danny's life and stop the bad guy. I really think I was, and that was my last breath before I plunged into the burning green liquid.

"I am a hero."

Then of course the burning sensation overwhelmed me. It felt like a million needles coming at me all at once while at the same time, falling into a volcano. After noticing a small explosion on the side of the tank and liquid swirling all around like water going down a bathtub drain, everything started to go black. And I was helpless; helplessly flowing down in that death pit. That was when I knew for sure I had lost consciousness. Though, I didn't want to remember afterwards. It was almost as if I could always feel the pain looking back. But as hard as I wanted to, that was a day I could never forget.


	23. Chapter 22

**Oh, and the ugly, ugly aftermath. All in all, though very traumatized, I think Kira does well. There's a bit of falling on humour for a coping mechanism, so don't take that the wrong way. Anyways, enjoy and remember to favourite, comment, and follow if you want to keep up or add something to the experience. Bye!**

The moment my eyes shot open, I shot up in terror. I didn't know where I was, but I was strapped down to a bed. That gave me a bit of panic, but after the moment's rush, I surveyed the room. It was pretty plain. All of it was covered by a metallic looking surface. There seemed to be a pile of flowers started over by a metal sliding door. There was one window, and one mirror, but it wasn't at the right angle for me to see myself. The window though, I could see stars outside, and not just up, all around. That was the one piece that gave me the information I needed.

It was the Watch Tower. Obviously it must have been a medical bay. And… is that snoring? Sure enough, I looked next to me to see a quietly snoring Bruce Wayne, sleeping in a chair wearing his batsuit with the cowl pulled down..

"Bats?" I asked. My voice was scratchy, and nearly inaudible, so I tried again. "Bruce?" It felt as if I hadn't had any water in days, and by the looks of the IV in my arm, I probably hadn't.

He seemed slightly startled when he woke up, but the moment he realized I was awake, he shook off the entire look of sleepiness. Quickly pulling his chair closer to the bed, he put a hand on my shoulder and asked, "How do you feel?"

"Like I've been chewing on glass," I said before letting out a dry cough.

"Here," he said, propping my head up with an extra pillow and bring a glass of water to my lips.

I took a few quick sips and said, "Thanks. But... why am I restrained?"

"We were afraid that when you woke up you might…" his voice trailed off. Something was bothering him big time.

"Might what?" I questioned, mustering what little bit of my ghost powers I could at the time to phase out of the restraints. My muscles all felt weak. I probably didn't want to stand up, but some arm movement made me feel a lot safer.

"Well, that you might… do something a little crazy," he said, looking totally awkward.

"Why would I ever do something crazy? Well, crazier than normal. I feel perfectly fine. Other than the usual bit of feeling like I got my ass handed to me. So did we win then?"

"Yeah, we did. You made it a lot easier when you caught Light," he said.

"Oh, I did do that, didn't I? So that means… that falling bit wasn't just a dream."

"No," he said, a serious look crossing his face.

Just then, the only door in the room slid open, revealing Martian, Clark, Danny, and Dick. I guess it was an all boys welcoming party then. After all, I'd never been in outer space before.

"Hey J'onn, Clark, Danny, Dick. What's wrong? You look like you've all seen a ghost, and I know for a fact that's not abnormal for Danny," I said, giving them all strange looks.

"Kira, it's just that…" Danny started, seeming to lose his voice at the end.

"Something terrible happened to me when I fell in, didn't it? I look like him now, don't I?" I questioned, quickly tearing the IV out of my arm and sitting up. It made me a little woozy, but I was in a moment of panic, so I pushed past it and got to my feet.

"Shadow, just sit down," Clark urged as I stood up, trying to block my path.

"Don't tell me what to do," I said, pushing him out of the way, having to use a bit of my super strength.

"Ms. Blake, I do believe it's in your best interest to take this slow," Martian said, standing in front of the mirror and blocking my view.

"I don't do slow, now move before I do something really mean and damaging to the Martian psyche," I said, crossing my arms.

"Kira, just hold on," Bruce said, rushing up next to me and trying to grab me.

"Damn it Bruce! I got perma-clowned by those freaks, and I know that for a fact. It doesn't take a genius to see their own hands. I just need to see," I said, shoving him off of me.

"Calm down," Danny said, taking a defensive position in case I decided to get really mean.

"J'onn, move," I ordered, pulling out one hand and lighting a small fireball in it. I could see the reflection of the flames in his eyes, and a nervous look crossed his face.

"Kira, stop it, you're freaking him out," Danny ordered, rushing at me and grabbing my hand with one that was icy cold.

"And you can't get it through your thick skull that I might be a little freaked out too?" I questioned, letting the fireball die and turning to face him. "I'm fighting Vlad, next thing I know I see _you _pinned against the railing with a cocky grin on your face. So I decide to be a hero and guess what? I actually was one, up until the very second I fell into the pit of searing hot needles. It wasn't sunshine and rainbows Danny, it was pure hell in your place!"

I was angry; angry enough to be a jerk. I blasted Danny off of me with a burst of energy and turned back to Martian. "Move!" I shouted, lighting both of my arms on fire up to the elbows and pushing him out of the way.

Shock rippled through my body. My spine shivered. I knew it had happened, but actually seeing it was something else. My perfect shade of brown hair was gone. It had been destroyed to a toxic green. My lovely tan skin was ruined. It was as white as paper. Even my green eyes that I loved so much were horrifyingly bloodshot to the point where no colour but red seemed to show. Even when I rubbed my fingers together, I noticed my fingerprints had been burned off. Honestly though, that could be a good thing. I wouldn't have to worry about wearing gloves anymore. All in all, I was deformed and sickening, so much so that I shot flames at the mirror, scorching it black so I didn't have to see myself.

At that, I turned to face the room and slid my back down against the mirror until I was sitting in a slightly scrunched position on the floor. All I could do was stare into my hands in shock. All of me that was me was gone. I couldn't have held back the steady stream that came from my eyes if I tried.

"Hey, it's okay. We'll fix this," Bruce said, leaning down next to me.

"Fix this? How? You can't even do a skin graft because I don't have a non-mutated sample left. Obviously a cure isn't possible or it'd take years to make because, let's be honest, Joker's been a thorn in your side since your third anniversary of being Batman and he hasn't been cured yet if anyone even tried. Nobody could want me like this. My parents will think I'm a freak, again, and I doubt this time they'll want me sticking around. And why am I not totally nuts?" I rambled, hiding my face between my knees and arms.

"J'onn held together as much of your mind as he could until you stabilized and could manage it on your own," Clark said, making me look up and glance at the obviously startled Martian. He seemed to be recovering quickly, but what I did to him was harsh and cruel.

"Sorry about the fire Martian," I said quietly, returning my face to its hiding place. "I'm a jerk."

_"I'll be fine," _he responded, _"the question is whether you'll be."_

It took me a moment to realize he was speaking in my mind, but when I did, I made sure to answer back the same way. _"What do you mean?" _I questioned, feeling a bit worried.

_"I haven't told Batman, and I don't intend to, but your mind is very unstable. Strong trauma or even minor tampering could endanger your mind," _he warned. _"Though judging from some of your memories, I feel as if trauma is not as much an issue. You've really seen how Batman dies?"_

_"Sadly," _I thought back. _"I guess I hadn't even thought about it until now, but at this point, history may have changed. Don't tell him anything though. I think you know what bad could come from him knowing."_

"Indeed," he responded, this time speaking out loud.

"Wait, were you two just having some kind of Martian-mind conversation?" Danny questioned, crossing his arms.

"Yes," J'onn responded, looking at him as if we weren't just talking about the end of Batman.

"Just discussing how much I could really use Alfred's tea making skills right now," I said with a bit of a forced laugh, trying to recompose myself. Crying in front of the boys was not something I enjoyed, and I'm fairly certain it shredded part of my man card (which I stole BTW, but that's a story for another time). "Who sent the flowers?"

"Commissioner Gordon and Ethan actually. They wanted to thank you personally, but I told them you would want some time first," Bruce said.

"Smart, but I'll be sure to go show them I'm alive as soon as we get back," I said. "I don't look the prettiest, but I'm sure they won't mind."

"So do you think you're ready to go home?" he asked, offering me a hand.

"Yeah but… I want to see something first," I said with a shining glint of curiosity in my eye.

_Shortest Time Skip EVER…_

"Wow," I said in amazement, running up to the huge window. "Meg would love this."

"Hey Kira," Danny called, causing me to turn around, "you might want this."

A smile crossed my face as he tossed me the disposable camera I had obtained in his dimension. "You know just how to make a girl smile," I remarked, turning to the stunning view of the Earth from thousands of feet up and snapping a picture.

"So you and this Meg, is she your…" Clark tried, trailing off at the end.

"Girlfriend? No, but she was going to be. All I had to do was ask her out to cement it, but I didn't get the chance," I said, putting my camera in one of the pouches of my belt before crossing my arms.

"Wait, that was what you were worried about everyone figuring out?" Danny questioned, walking up next to me.

"It didn't go so well the first time," I said curtly, giving him a serious look. "My dad did try to kick me out, and I wasn't considered the most normal of kids at school, but they got over it faster than the family did. Of course, I wasn't that normal to begin with anyway. Now I'm really not normal though."

"You seem perfectly fine to me," Danny said, walking over and giving me a hug.

I quickly pushed him off with a grin and said, "I ain't Sam."

He turned slightly pink in the face and said, "I don't have a thing for Sam!"

"You keep telling yourself that," I said with a laugh, walking towards the group of older men and Dick. "You can keep telling yourself they were fake-out make-outs, but we all know better."

"Oh yeah," he said, his face totally red at this point, "well you kissed Tucker."

"I'm not into guys, I have a defense. Honestly, I'd be more likely to flirt with that b-word Paulina that I would to do it to one of you boys," I said with a disgusted look, stepping into the elevator.

"Since when have you held back from cursing?" Bruce questioned with a look of amusement.

"Bats, I'm ashamed of you for even thinking I'd do something like that when there is an impressionable little child in the room," I scoffed, grabbing Dick's shoulders.

"Shut up," Dick said, pushing off my hands as the rest of the people standing around had a small laugh. "Besides, I'm just as old as Danny."

"Whatever little brother," I said, taking one last look around, "going down?"


	24. Chapter 23

**Hey guys! So, this chapter is directly connected to the next chapter which is all a setup for some future events, so don't think that will take affect for a short while anyways. If it seems kind of rushed at the end or a little odd, it's supposed to, don't worry. If you have any questions, shoot me a comment. **

My cape made a quick whoosh of air as I landed down in the window of Gordon's office. That was the one thing I liked about the grappling hook; you held momentum until the very end. Bruce had insisted I go the power free way. He was right. After all, I did feel pretty drained. My body kept trying to regenerate against the mutation, but all it did was steal energy I could be using for more important matters.

So back on topic, there I sat, comfortable in the window with my hood pulled up and my cape fluttering to the outside. It only took a moment for the commissioner to realize I was there. My beautiful entrances weren't nearly as sneaky as Batman's after all.

"Good to see you're still alive," Gordon said, facing me with a slightly defensive stance. There was the unanswered question then.

"And sane. Well, as sane as I was before, which is honestly questionable anyway," I joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Gordon didn't seem to be having any of it. "So you'll be fine then."

"I'd be in Arkham or under Bat-Arrest if I wasn't. Batsy'd make sure of it. The Justice League patched me up, in more ways than one," I said, tapping a gloved finger to the side of my covered head. "Thanks for the flowers by the way."

"After you saved my people, it was the least I could do," he responded, stepping closer.

"It was nothing," I said, shying away instinctively. "One of Phantom's friends had mentioned Detective Bennett a lot. I figured it was nice to spring you all early instead of letting the place stew 'til the fight was over."

"That was smart," he said. Once again, I could just feel the question lingering at the back of his mind. He wanted to ask, but he wasn't the kind of guy that would. He had too much respect for the city's heroes.

"You want to see, don't you?" I asked, turning completely away from him and looking out into the cityscape. I could see Danny waiting for me on a distant building. I couldn't make out his features, but he was probably concerned if he followed me there.

"I can't say the thought hasn't crossed my mind," he said, clearly standing about a meter behind me.

"I thought as much," I said with a sigh, reaching for my hood.

"You don't have to show me if you don't feel like it," he assured, sounding more like a father than a police officer.

"Commish, I'd tell you my own name if it weren't for the fact that it's tied to Batman's secret too. I trust you," I said, slowly pulling down the hood.

"My god," he muttered, resting against the window sill and leaning his head out just enough to see the side of my face. "They did a number on you."

"I can cover it up," I said with certainty. "I figured out how to use spectral manipulation to fix my eyes, and the hair and skin only need a bit of cosmetics. After all that, it only really changed my looks."

"This shouldn't have happened," he said, looking slightly angry. I felt it was kind of odd that he should be reacting that way over me, but I pinned it on one psychological problem: he must have been drawing a mental connection between me and Barbara.

"I fight bad guys. It's the risk we all choose to make. Even you put yourself in danger. If it was going to happen to anyone, I'm just glad it wasn't one of Gotham's finest. I mean, if Bats didn't have the resources he does, I'd be stewing in my own insanity."

"It shouldn't have happened to a kid."

"But it did, and it happened because of me. Light was a product of my failure, not someone else's. Besides, I'm not really all that much a kid. I'm a ghost Gordon, I'm capable and dangerous," I said before flicking up my hood and jumping out the window.

"Wait!" he called after me as I grappled to a tall building and swung around it, landing swiftly on a shorter building next to it. If he had anything important to say, I didn't hear any of it.

I looked up to the building Danny was standing on and smirked before waving him over to my position. With a little shock that I knew where he was, he flew over towards me. "How did you see me?" he questioned.

"How did I not see you? Your hair _glows _white, remember?" I answered, running and jumping to the next building.

"Are you sure that's safe?" he questioned, following after me.

"Batman does it all the time, and besides, if I fall, I have you to catch me," I said, running and jumping to the next one. "And anyways, my ATV's just down there so I really don't have to go that far."

"So how'd your thing with the commissioner go?" he asked, floating out in front of me with crossed arms.

"Dude, you really should keep your legs on. The whole ghost-tail thing gives me the creeps. But all in all it went fine. I think I somehow remind him of Barbara too much for his own good," I said, sitting on the edge of the building with my legs dangling over the side.

"So he's treating you like an injured daughter?"

"Pretty much. I think this dimension's trying to give me a few too many father figures," I said with a laugh.

"Lucky for you. I'm not seeing the same," he said, looking down before coming to land next to me.

"Feeling homesick huh?" I asked, giving him a concerned look.

"You shouldn't be worrying about me. I'm not important right now," he said, looking away from me.

"It's no different than normal. I always worry about you. We're friends remember? And even more than that, you're like my brother D. So, any advice your wonderful sister can give?" I said, taking his shoulder.

"How do you deal with losing everyone?" he questioned after a moment's pause, still refusing to face me.

"Do you want the honest answer or a lie that makes you feel better?" I asked, looking at the side of his face. After he sighed and didn't seem to give an answer, I said, "I don't deal with it. I try to make it feel better by forgetting it a little bit, but that's not good for a healthy mind. It makes it a little better when you search for stand in family figures though. I mean, take your world for instance. You became my stand in brother, not a replacement mind you, your mom and dad made for a good band-aid to cover up that hole, Sam and Tucker are a lot like my friends, and Jazz was just a bonus. I never really had a sister to begin with, so it was just like a new addition to the family. I didn't really stop feeling so depressed until I realized that. Do you get what I mean?"

"Yeah, I guess," he said, finally turning to face me. "But what about here? Who could we count as repl-stand ins?"

"I don't know. Though I think Big B would be terrible at it, he could be a father figure. He tries to be; I just think he seems more like a helpless brother. Of course, he didn't really have parents around long enough to figure out the whole father-kid relationship thing. And depending on what patch you use him for, Al could be a granddad or a dad. Robin's definitely a little brother by all definitions, and Batgirl or I could be like sisters for you. Not really a momma hen in the nest though. And some good filler friends will come along once we start going to school."

"But won't that just make it even worse when we have to leave again?" he questioned, his face looking far away.

"Yeah, it does, but someday we'll see them all again. I promise," I said, taking his hand.

"But that doesn't stop the dreams, does it?" he asked, turning himself back to his human form and looking at me with his icy-blue eyes. All in all, he looked like a sad puppy even though he still wore his hero costume with the hood pulled up. It couldn't help adding the effect of making me feel ten times worse for him. He just looked so… vulnerable.

"I quit having the dreams after the nightmares started, but no, it doesn't. But you're lucky. At least you see your family in dreams. I just see my mistakes, and believe me, I'd bleach my skin a thousand times more if it made those terrible thoughts just go away."

"And I'd wander into a broken portal a million times more just to make sure we both make it home," he said, reaching an arm around my shoulders in a friendly gesture.

"And we will. We have to. I promised Sam and we've both got girls waiting on us," I said with a forced laugh. "So, you ready to go home and make me look human again?"

"How long does this hair stuff take anyway?" he questioned, giving me an odd look.

"Well, dying hair takes like an hour, hour and a half? And the last time I got my hair bleached, it took about the same amount of time," I answered.

"Why did you bleach your hair the last time?"

"Believe it or not, it was because I wanted it green for Saint Patrick's Day," I said with a laugh.

"Why would you do that?" he questioned, busting up in laughter himself.

"Bro, when I party, I go all out," I said, trying to contain my giggles as I pushed myself off of the roof and used a grappling hook to slow my decent before I landed on my red and black ride.

"Good to see you can still have fun," Danny said, floating down after me and taking ghost form again.

"D, if you haven't noticed, I never stop having fun. Even when my life's in danger I don't take anything seriously," I said, leaning back on the ATV like a recliner chair and looking up at him.

"But when it's anyone else, you do," he said, still floating in front of me.

"Shh," I hushed playfully, pressing a finger to my lips, "that's my little secret."

"But why?"

"Same reason you dream about failing to save Jazz. If I die, what do I care, I'm dead. If one of you dies, I have to live with the consequence of always knowing I couldn't save you. That's why those moments are serious."

"So you'd do anything to protect me?"

"No."

"What?" he questioned in shock.

"I have to worry less about you because you can handle yourself and I may just end up screwing things up more in the process. Besides, I worry about you and you worry about me, so if we both would do anything to protect the other, we may face a bad stalemate someday. So, you have to promise me you won't do everything in your power to protect me," I said, giving him a very serious look.

"I won't agree to that," he said, furrowing his brow.

"If you don't agree to it, I'll throw myself into more situations that are too dangerous in your mind for me to handle until you get the point. I won't have you injuring yourself over me."

"You're such a hypocrite," he snapped, glaring daggers.

"I'm so proud you know a word that big! But guess what ghost boy: that was your free pass. Mine was when you were an idiot and tried to pull an ecto-resistant net off of me and nearly shocked yourself to death. So, we're even," I shot back, sending him a deeper glare than his own.

"So you just expect me to let you throw yourself into danger in that weakened state?"

"Oh you did not just call me weak," I nearly shouted, my eyes flashing red. "You know what? Fine! The next time you try phasing through a tank of dangerous chemicals, I'll let you!"

"Fine!" he shouted back, his eyes shining brighter than normal. "The next time you deliberately jump off a building, I'll let you fall on your own."

"Good! I have a wonderful device called a grappling hook you power-dependant idiot."

"And I have this wonderful thing called ghost powers that don't short out on me depending on my mood!"

"At least I'm not the idiot shouting at a girl that gets more powerful with anger!" I continued to argue. I was about finished with his stupidity. Did he think I wasn't capable? I mean I was one of the strongest ghosts in the multiverse now with added Joker-powers, and I was hella sure I didn't even want to know what that meant. As everyone that's ever questioned my powers _ever_ has figured out, it only leads to a nice blow to the ego, and I was on my last straw with Danny. "You know what? I'll take my own way home. Why don't you go do the only thing you're good at and fight the Box Ghost or something? _If _you can even handle that."

"You did not just say I can't handle the Box Ghost," he said as I started my ride.

"That's exactly what I said," I muttered before rushing out, leaving him behind me as I headed to the nearest entrance to the Batcave.

I couldn't help but feel angry. I shouldn't have been. I shouldn't have even argued with Danny, but he was feeling guilty and so was I. You could cut the cloud of tension between us with a knife. _Hopefully by tomorrow he forgets about it, _I thought to myself. _But knowing Danny, he won't. _

I knew I shouldn't feel so bad about what I did. I saved his life after all, but now there was a festering wound between us. It was the argument of who needed to be saved, and the only answer I could see was for us both to help each other, but not at the cost of dying. And if anyone was going to make it around this dimensional loop, it should be him, not me. He deserved it. All I did was a few random acts of good to cover up the ones of stupidity.

My mind shot back for a moment of clarity when I was speeding through an intersection. I was sure the tech on my ATV should have switched all lights to red, but at the moment I passed through it, a large green truck came barreling at me from another direction. Knowing I didn't have the energy to turn me and the ATV intangible, I did the next best thing and jumping off of it the moment before the large truck slammed into side of it. A small explosion from my vehicle shot me just out of range as the truck came to a screeching halt.

After a rough landing, I painfully looked back and the burning ruins of the high powered four-wheeler I'd had less than a week. _In less than a week _I destroyed the first motorized vehicle I'd ever been fully responsible for. Bruce was going to kill me.

**Any idea whose truck that was? Well you don't even have to wait! Continue to the beautiful, quickly released next chapter!**


	25. Chapter 24

**And a late night load of bad Blake luck before we start the school day in the next one. Anyway, on an escape from cliff-hangers, the continuation of last chapter! Hope y'all enjoy!**

"Ouch," I muttered, slowly standing up. I hadn't even been wearing a helmet. Even with ghost powers, it was a stupid idea. My hood had fallen down and I realized oddly coloured blood was seeping from a small gash on my forehead, but it was healing over quickly.

_"What… _do we have here?" a slightly distorted voice said from over by the truck that hit me. That was probably from a concussion.

When I looked over to see the man clad in green holding a cane behind his neck, I groaned in annoyance. "Seriously?" I questioned, staggering to a slightly defensive position though it'd do no good. "Drivers run me all the time, but if they're caught, they'll get a fine. What am I?"

"A stop sign," he answered smugly, seemingly impressed by my flattering of his persona. "Very quick on your wit, wouldn't you say?"

"I guess, but seriously man, I get you're a villain and all, but traffic violations? Do you know how much Batman is going to kill me? I have places to be tonight, and now it's going to take me ten times longer to get there, I'm going to have to call Bats to pick me up, he's going to start questioning what your latest plans are… You literally could have just got away with no worry in the world if you would have just stopped, and I wouldn't have cared less," I complained, reluctantly grabbing the Batwave device off my belt.

"You're a very interesting child to have become Batman's companion, so I must ask, why?" he questioned, dropping his staff down so he could lean on it like he was listening for a secret.

"I don't typically like question marks when there's a reference to me in the sentence. So Eddy, I'd suggest you and whoever is in that truck scamper on out of here. Personally, I don't feel like kicking your ass tonight, especially with a likely concussion, and I know you don't like unplanned meetings very much," I said, using a bit of my ice powers to sooth a fast bruising shoulder while I tried to figure out how to call Batman on the stupid device in my hand. He had to make it ten times harder than my cell phone, didn't he?

Riddler raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why don't you just fly away?" I was honestly surprised he didn't correct me for using his real name.

"If you have to ask the question, you should at least partly know the answer," I responded, finally getting Batwave to start signaling my position. "You are the king of riddles after all."

"Flattering me will do you no good," he said, stepping closer to me, an action I wasn't too fond of.

"I wasn't flattering, just stating a fact. Now keep your distance from me," I ordered, stepping back.

"Now I see," he observed, "not only can you not fly in this state, but you're not strong enough to fight."

"Better avoid pissing me off or I will be. Besides, Batman's going to get here soon enough and make you choke on those words."

"Such brutish threats from a small girl. But if I remember correctly, and I always do, Batman's approximate response time is around seven minutes in this section of the city; more than enough time to teach his annoying sidekick a lesson in brain over brawn," he said as three nerdy looking henchmen came out of the back of the truck and took stance next to him.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me," I muttered. Okay, situational analysis. Between becoming street pizza and my weakened state from my latest mutation, not to mention losing my ATV, I stood no chance at running. I'm sure I could muster a few ectobeams, but they wouldn't be anything powerful, so fighting wasn't the best idea. I could try to outsmart him, but this is Riddler we're talking about here. All in all, I was outnumbered, outgunned, and severely outmatched. What was on my belt? Baterangs? Still couldn't throw those for crap. Explosives? Not very safe and could cause some damage. Laser pen and ghost gear were useless. I could use my smoke-bombs and grappling hook to make a quick escape, but I really didn't know if Riddler had a way of following me, and I'm not sneaky enough to disappear into the night. But… that was about the only feasible choice to go for. "You know, I'm not liking the odds here. I think I'll just escape now," I said, trying to reach for my belt without his notice.

"And how do you intend on doing that?" he questioned as his men stepped closer to me.

"By thinking like Batman of course," I said, finally throwing the smoking pellets to the ground and aiming my grappling gun to a nearby building. After I was up, I flicked my hood up and looked down to see the smoke was clearing. A nervous sweat traced the lines of my mask as Riddler came into view and he pointed my location out to his men. Of course, adrenaline and fear kicked in; giving me the extra push I needed to forget the pain of the crash and start running from building to building. I only hoped I was going in the right direction.

"This day just has to keep getting worse," I muttered as Riddler's goons started firing some kind of weapon at me. Giving cartoon physics, I wasn't sure whether it was bullets or just short laser shots, but I felt like I was dancing and dodging nonstop to avoid those things.

But seriously, of all people that had to come kick my ego, Riddler? All that guy ever did was spew out questions and puzzles. Of course, then I was forgetting the fact that the man was probably ten times smarter than me and, in my pathetic state, his three techno-geek lackeys could majorly make me regret my nerves being attached to my brain. Speaking of which, can I just say how grateful I am Bats put some Kevlar or the like in my suit? Oh, but when that bullet hit, it still hurt like a son of a-

"Damn it!" I shouted as it felt like I was taking a strong punch to the ribs by a jack-hammer. It was right as I was about to jump to the next building. If it weren't for the fire escape on the side, I would have fallen all the way to the ground. I groaned and tried to stand up, clenching my hand to my newly discovered bruise. I looked down to see that Riddler's men were already climbing towards me, and he was looking up from the ground with a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

"What eats crow, yells uncle, and tosses sponges?" he called up from the ground.

"How the hell should I know?" I hissed through clenched teeth, looking for some kind of escape.

"A _loser_," he said as his guys finally got to the section right below me.

My eyes twitched around in nervous fear, but I caught sight of a moving blur right before they reached my level. "The tides are shifting Nigma," I said with confidence, pointing to the approaching Batmobile.

"It appears you've gotten lucky this time. Next time though, Batman won't be able to save you," he said, calling off his men and retreating.

"You've got one thing wrong: Batman's always there to save me," I called after him. As much as I wasn't ready for a confrontation with Riddler, he wasn't ready for one with the Dark Knight. Without forcing Bruce into one of his traps, Riddler didn't have the brawn to win.

The Batmobile screeched to a halt right at the opening of the alley I ended up in. I felt a great sense of relief as the roof slid open and Bats got out of the car. "I think I'm ready to go home now," I called down to him.

"What happened?" he questioned, walking to the bottom of the fire escape and starting his climb.

"Oh, an impromptu kick to the ego after Riddler ran a stop-light. ATV wrecks are painful. Oh, and I should mention, it kind of blew up on impact. What did you have in that thing?" I answered.

"I prototype engine I was working on. Are you alright?" he asked as he was just one section below me.

"Other than the cuts, bruises, possible concussion, the fact that getting shot in the armour sucks, and the slight psychological scarring? Never been better," I said dryly.

"Good. Is that blood on your face?" he questioned, finally on the same level as me and examining my various injuries himself.

"Yeah, that was probably from the gash on my head. It's most the way gone now. My blood's a really weird colour," I said as he lowered my hood to make sure it wasn't serious.

"I would expect after two genetic mutations it would be," he said, putting an arm under mine and shooting his grappling hook to the corner of the building next to us. Going that way, he lowered us down in a controlled drop to the ground. It was a lot easier than climbing down.

"I swear to god if I ever hear another riddle again I'm killing someone," I muttered as I got in the passenger seat of the car.

Bats sent me an evil smirk after he took his seat and I knew I was going to hate him. "If you aim to give us a shot, we'll riddle you," he said, before I gave him a hard punch in the arm.

"By tomorrow, bullets will be the least of your problems. This means war," I said as he started the engine.

"So why wasn't Danny with you? He said he was going to tail you to the police station," he said, changing the subject.

"I don't know; probably out blowing off some stream. We had another falling out. We'll patch it up in hugs and apologies later. We always do," I said, pushing my head back as far as it would go.

"What happened?" he questioned, turning sharply around a corner.

"I think he feels guilty that I saved him. I don't really care. The only problem is my body rejecting the change, but that may make it easier to fight off later if we figure out a cure," I said. "My ghost powers are kind of on the fritz. Is there some kind of anti-rejection drug or something that could help that? I mean, they make them for organ transplants."

"We'll look into it later. Right now we have a long night of getting you ready for school tomorrow," he said, giving me a stern look as he drove into one of the entrances of the cave.

"Yeah," I sighed as the car came to a stop.

School was going to suck.


	26. Chapter 25

**A little bit of drama, a hectic morning, and a bet that's going south faster than migrating birds. This chapter's got a lot of crazy to it. Next chapter school will continue, and there's going to be an oddball introduction to a character that's bound to be important later on, so watch for that. And my last public notice, HI BENMEAD95! He'll understand. Anyway, enjoy!**

I was jolted awake from the first peaceful sleep I'd had in a while when Alfred started tearing open the curtains over every window of my room.

"Ugh, it burns," I muttered, trying to roll away from the light but embarrassingly rolling off my bed and smacking down on the floor. "Ow!"

"That's what you get for getting yourself shot at in your nightly escapade," he said, coming over to help me up.

"You know that first night when I told you I could embarrass myself later?" I muttered, getting off the floor with his help.

"Yes, quite clearly," he replied.

"I think I've made my quota," I whined.

"I would have to disagree," he said with a playful smirk. "Now you must start getting ready for school."

I looked at the clock and nearly died when I read the time. "At six in the morning?" I questioned. "I don't even think I've woken up before six thirty in my entire life."

"Well, when you have to do the equivalent of painting the colour onto your skin in the morning, this is how early you have to wake up," he said, walking over to my closet. "Here you are," he said after pulling out a light grey outfit with hints of blue, "your school uniform."

"Uniforms suck," I whined, taking it from him and walking towards the bathroom. Even though I couldn't wash my hair, I could still try to wash off the feeling of failure of getting chased across Gotham by Riddler last night.

Five minutes later, my usual short shower was over and I was getting dressed. Then it was up to Alfred to help me "paint" my skin to a normal complexion. Really, that's what it felt like. Lots of foam sponges covered in what seemed like industrial-strength foundation (basically girl's skin paint for boys) and a ton of after powder so it didn't rub or sweat off. Then I added the finishing touch of focusing my eyes to make them look like they weren't bloodshot. In the end, I felt ridiculous, but I looked normal. As long as nobody scrutinized too hard, no one would even notice I was anything but normal. Then we had to get my arm in a bogus cast so that nobody questioned my healing factor. And that process took until seven o'clock. I couldn't believe it.

At that point, Alfred ran to go wake up Dick and Danny, both of whom were smart enough to have showered the night before. I felt like I was going to fall asleep in my breakfast by the time they came down in their uniforms. Danny- James, had to remember that-refused to even make eye contact with me. Dick was going into total spaz mode trying to tell us every detail about the school there possibly was, who to stay away from, and what teachers would pass you as long as you claimed they were your favourite.

"Dick, chill!" I finally said, watching him realize how crazy he'd gotten before sitting down at his seat to eat. I sat back and sighed, taking a few bites of food off of my plate before I got distracted.

"Want a morning riddle?"

"Bruce, I swear to god, I will use ninja skills and ghost powers to make your life a living hell if you even mention that one more time. I wanted you to learn how to be fun, not an evil tormentor," I complained, looking over to the entrance of the room where he was walking in.

"Hey, I think I sound exactly like you," he defended, taking a seat next to Dick.

"I do not sound like that!" I cried indignantly.

"Yes you do," Dick and Danny said at the same time.

"This so has all the markings of prank-war coming," I said, finishing the small bit of food left on my plate.

"As much as I'd love to entertain a war between a teenager and a grown man, it's about time I take you all to school," Alfred said, walking out with his driving cap on and four lunch bags in hand.

The boys both jumped from their seats, grabbed the bags with their names on them from Alfred, and ran outside. Bruce and I were both slow, anti-morning people and took our time going over to him to grab ours. Apparently Bruce had meetings all day and after our late night, neither of us were going to enjoy our days.

"I would say I feel like I have a hangover, but I have nothing to compare that to," I complained as I got in the back of the luxury car, sitting next to Bruce.

"You'll get used to it eventually," he claimed, but I could still detect sleep in his voice.

"Obviously you haven't," I pointed out.

"Normally I don't have to be up this early, but apparently the science department has made some huge, possibly life changing or life ending discovery that needs to go through the approval process before they can begin testing, and seeing as something like that could majorly influence the company, they think I should be there."

"But you're more the 'lay back and let everyone else make the money while I busy myself being Batman' kinda guy," I said, staring up at the ceiling of the car and trying to stay awake.

"They only let me pull that stunt so much," he sighed, staring out the window.

"Mornings suck," I groaned.

"How can you be complaining? Today's gonna be awesome!" Dick said, his voice fully awake and laced with excitement.

"Dick, you're one of those people I want to blast into oblivion before locking in level zero of Doom," Danny said, sending Dick a glare that could send his grandchildren to their graves.

"What kind of a threat is that?" Dick questioned, giving him a strange look.

"One you don't want to come true," I assured. "So what's so special about this school?"

"It's one of the most prestigious schools in the country," Bruce said tiredly.

"Boring," I sighed. "I'm gonna get lost in the first five minutes."

"Probably," he replied.

"You know the first time I went to school, I got lost going to the bathroom. Gotham schools are ten times the size of that one," I said as we entered the outskirts of the city. The good news was it was only a ten minute drive into Gotham. Honestly, by the time my powers decided to quit being stupid, I'd probably just make a quick flight to school.

"Don't get too overwhelmed, you'll get used to it."

"B, this is me we're talking about, I don't get overwhelmed," I said, shooting him a cocky grin.

"We'll see about that," he said smugly.

"Is that a bet I'm hearing?"

"What do you think?"

"Alright, if this place doesn't make me freak out before the day is over, I get unsupervised access to the Batcave for half an hour," I said.

"Twenty minutes at max, but if I win, I'll be your training partner this week, not Dick," he wagered. A few more bruises and a lot more beating versus the chance to setup evil pranks all over the Batcave without a prying bat.

"Given the fact that I don't know when my pride should take a rest, you're on."

"You're gonna get your butt kicked into next week," Dick said with a grin.

"Only if he wins, and he won't," I said with a grin.

"We'll see," Bruce said, sending me a mischievous look. I'm fairly certain forcing him to have fun was the best thing I ever did. I could see why super villains liked to mess with him. Is that a bad thing?

_Time Skip…_

"See you later Bruce," Dick called.

"Bye Alfred," I added as we back-stepped towards the school.

"See you tonight, and don't forget our bet. I'll know if you're lying," Bruce said before Alfred pushed the door shut and went around to the driver's side.

"He will," Dick said, giving me an odd look.

"Oh, I have no doubt," I said as we turned around and faced the school. "Too bad for him, I plan on keeping a level head."

"You're going to lose, and then you're going to get mad and complain when you face plant the floor literally a hundred times," he said.

"BS. I'll prove him wrong this time," I said.

"I said that same thing for the first month. By month two, I figured out that never works," he said, narrowing his eyes at what probably included some not-so-great memories.

"Well then, I still have a few weeks to go before I escape denial. Right?" I said with a smirk as we walked into the building.

Something felt… off. A school like that should have been noisy and bustling with movement, but it went dead still as the doors closed behind us. "Well, this is unexpected," I said in a tight voice, looking at Dick as Danny wandered off acting like he didn't know me. "You may want to take after our _wonderful _brother Dickie."

"I'll stick with you. What's your locker number?" he said, ignoring the glares.

"793," I said, looking at the card with my schedule on it.

"Alright, follow me," he said, grabbing my left wrist and trying to pull me though the crowded hall.

"Uh, you get the feeling we're getting stared at?"

"Kira, don't be stupid. You're getting stared at. I'm just material," he said as we stopped in front of a set of lockers. "It's that one."

"Thanks D2," I said with a smile. "Now get out of here before I start lowering your social stature."

"Okay. If you need any help, just ask. I really don't want you to lose that bet with Bruce," he said, turning around.

"He can't be that scary," I said, waving him off before putting in the combination to the built in lock.

"You have a lot of nerve coming back here," a boy's voice said behind me.

"Do you know where a Mr. Mast's English class is?" I asked after throwing my stuff in my locker and turning around.

"Did you not hear what I said?" he questioned.

"Selective hearing. I only hear things that don't get me into fights," I said casually, crossing my arms.

"Seems to me you messed that one up," he said with growing hostility.

"You don't know all the facts big guy," I said, staring him down. "Until you do, I suggest you keep your fists to yourself."

"And what facts are we _all _missing? From where I stand, you had a weapon with the power to take that ghost down, and you let him take Batman," he said as everyone around us sent glares my way too.

"How many times have you fought a ghost?" I questioned, refusing to let him win.

"Never," he said with a 'duh' tone to his voice.

"Then how do you know the weapon I had could stop him?" I said, giving him a pointed glare.

"You're the one that threatened him with it."

"Skulker's too strong for a tiny wrist ray," I said, looking down at the floor in annoyance. "All the good I could'a done was make him drop Bats into a face plant on concrete _and _get grabbed again. Besides, he told me to get out of there. I just didn't listen."

"Then why did you try to fight him anyway?"

"Why didn't you? I was hoping I could bluff my way into making the ghost let him go. Now if you don't mind, class starts in… three minutes and I have no idea where I'm going. So, I'll ask again: where's Mr. Mast's English room?"

"It's down that way, on the third left turn. It's the second door on the right," a girl nearby said.

"Thanks," I said, sending her a nod and turning back to the boy. "Have a nice day." His eyes widened in surprise and he looked like he was about to say something, but I didn't give him the chance. I was already walking away.

If there was ever a way to mess with someone, it was to play nice like nothing even happened. It didn't really do much but wrack their brains, but it was entertaining to watch. I got to the classroom quick enough. Danny was already there. Apparently when I purposely fail a placement test and Danny tries on it, we get stuck in the same place.

"Now that everyone's shown up," a man, Mr. Mast probably, said, standing up from his desk, "let's get started. Would our two newest students please come up to the front of the classroom?"

Danny and I shared a look, mine neutral and his a glare, before we obediently walked to the front of the room. "How can you still be mad?" I whispered when we got close to each other.

"Two words," he whispered back, "Box. Ghost."

"Seriously dude? Get over it. If we get this mad at each other every time we fight, we're gonna hate each other ninety percent of the time," I replied.

"If you two are done?" Mast said, coming to stand next to us.

"Of course sir," I said, turning to face the room.

"Alright, now if you two could please introduce yourselves, we'll get this over with as painlessly as possible," he said.

"Hi, I'm Jimmy Fenton," Danny said to the room.

"I'm Kira Blake," I added uncomfortably.

"Alright then, have either of you read Hamlet?" Mr. Mast asked.

"No," Danny said with a look of disgust. Shakespeare hater anyway.

"I have," I said with a light smile.

"Good. How much of it can you remember?" he asked, looking skeptical.

"I can quote part of his first soliloquy. That's my favourite part," I said.

"Well then, why don't you demonstrate to the class?" he said.

What is it with adults and always thinking you're a liar when you say you can handle yourself? Of course, I proved him wrong by quoting the majority of the section to him, but that's life. Danny just stared on and glared. Somebody doesn't like being upstaged. Neither do I, but that's why I normally do the upstaging. I'll learn to tone it down when I'm older and I actually care.

"That makes my job easier. I'm assuming you'll be right up to speed. We're nearly finished anyway, so James, if you don't feel like reading the entire play, you won't have to. Take your seats," Mast said with both joy and surprise.

"Show off," Danny muttered before we started moving.

"Sorry," I mouthed before taking my seat.

Ugh, it was going to be a long day if I didn't pick up some friends really quickly. It was going to be an even longer night if I didn't win that bet, and the odds were getting stacked against me. I had a feeling that school would be the end of me. Added to the fact that I had a monster feeling something bad was going to happen, and I knew it was going to be a bad day.


	27. Chapter 26

**Dun dun duh... Character intro time! Hope you all like this, and I'll get more into his back story later, don't worry. It sounded like a good idea. And finally, some friends! Anyway, not much to say, enjoy and bye!**

So far, so good. The first four periods went by without a hitch. I stayed calm, shined in class, but not too much, and asked for directions rather than freaking out. Bruce was going to be sorely disappointed.

But back to there and then, it was lunch time. Honestly, it was my least favourite part of going to a new school. At least I didn't even have to question sitting with Sam, Tucker, and Danny last time, but now I had no clue where to go. With uniforms, it was nearly impossible to sort out cliques without some trial and error. The jocks, I could figure out. The prissy chicks, I could figure out. The only problem is that outcasts are a bit more difficult to pick out based on behaviour. I could see Dick, but he was sitting with a bunch of boys and Danny, not a good mix. But then my eyes caught someone else.

"Hey Kris, you mind if I sit with you guys?" I asked as I walked up to my apparent twin (as the boys had insisted).

"Sure," she said, motioning to the seat next to her.

"Thanks, I don't really know anyone else here and I'm fairly certain my brother's not liking me right now," I said, sitting down.

"You have a falling out?" she asked.

"A small sibling's quarrel I'd say. He'll get over it soon enough, I hope," I responded.

"So, how are you enjoying your first day here?" a girl across the table asked, looking at me with a face that seemed to care, but was honestly just hiding a slight look of distrust and anger.

"I have to say, Gotham's huge, and so is this school. It seems like people have turned into my personal GPS to find my way around this place," I joked, acting oblivious to her discomfort as I started opening my sack lunch.

"Why does your lunch only consist of strawberries and a thermos of something?" another girl asked.

"Because I have the best butler ever," I said, opening the thermos to find it full of hot tea. I may have mentioned in passing that strawberries are the only reason I exist. Alfred's awesome.

"You have a butler?" the first uncomfortable girl asked.

"Yeah, is that not normal?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, I figured with the whole 'one of the most prestigious schools in the country' speech, it would be normal to have wealthy families."

"Well, yeah, but most of the rich kids don't hang out with us. We all got here on scholarship," she said.

"Really? So you guys must be really smart, huh?" I said with a little surprise.

"Do you have a problem with that?" one of the more hostile girls said.

"Amber, don't-" Kris started before I cut her off.

"It's alright Kris. I didn't mean to offend you guys. I mean, this honestly pans out a lot better for me. Call me a hypocrite, but I don't really like rich kids. They always have a spoiled arrogance to them. I was just kind of adopted into money a little over a week ago though, so I probably don't count," I explained.

"What was your situation before?" the second girl asked.

"There wasn't one," I said, letting fake discomfort drip from my voice. "The streets, to be precise."

"I'm sorry," she said, looking terrible.

"It's alright. Bruce is cool. My bro and I have to be some of the luckiest kids on the planet. And Dick's pretty awesome too," I said with a smile. "So, what are your names? I mean, obviously I know Kris, but..."

"Amber Douglas," the one girl said.

"Sadie Matthews," the first uncomfortable girl said.

"Abby Cross," said the last one.

"Kira Blake. Nice meeting y'all," I said with a smile. They all started giggling and I raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"

"Sorry, you just talk really strangely," Abby said.

"I get it. City kids aren't used to rednecks, are you?" I said with half a smile before taking a bite of one of my strawberries.

"No," Kris said with a giggle.

"Anyone want some strawberries? I think Al filled this bag to the point of prank level," I said with a laugh.

"I'll take some," Sadie said, grabbing a handful. "So who adopted you?"

"Bruce Wayne," I said, pouring out some tea into the lid of the thermos.

"Wait, _the _Bruce Wayne?" Amber questioned.

"Yeah, is there more than one?"

"Kira, he's famous! What's he like?" she continued. "No reporter's ever been able to get the real story of his life, and you're living with him."

"Well, Kris has met him. He's a nice guy. Kind of a brown noser," I said, sending Kris a look to which she giggled and nodded her head. "He's not home that much. He goes out with a lot of girls, but he doesn't really seem to care about anything serious. I'd honestly say he's a bit introverted, but I pulled him out of that enough to start a little prank war. I love pranks, and he loves proving he can win at anything. He's got a soft spot for kids. Other than that, I don't know much else."

"So, is that whole playboy thing just an act?" she asked.

"I don't know," I lied. "I think he really just gets lonely in that huge house. He needs something to occupy his time and get him out of there. Maybe that's why he wanted so many of us kids to fill the place."

"I thought it was because... well, you know. You did hear what happened to his parents?" Kris said.

"Yeah, I did. He doesn't talk about it. Alfred was the one that told me," I said. "Who knows. The guy's... cryptic. I won't push the topic with him. Other than a psychological interest, it really doesn't matter to me."

"Psychological interest? Ooh, do you have that class?" Amber asked. "Kris and I are in it seventh hour."

"I'll look," I said, pulling the crumpled up schedule out of my back pocket. "Oh yeah, it looks like I do. Cool. With a Mrs. Benni-Bennith-"

"Oh, don't worry about that. She quit halfway through the year. They just haven't pulled her name out of the system," Kris said. "You're either going to love or hate her long term sub."

"He's a really weird guy. Gives me the creeps," Amber said, shivering to prove her point.

"Really, who is he?" I asked with genuine intrigue.

"Oh, he'll make you know him the moment he sees you, just wait," Kris said. "You'll either run or stare back in his face with 'academic interest'. Or at least, that's what he always says."

"O...K. I guess I'll remember that," I said with confusion before taking a sip of my tea.

"I have the feeling you'll like him though Kira. You just have to think a little outside the box," Kris said with a smile, taking a drink of her milk.

"Cool. The box is the bane of my existence."

* * *

"Hey, excuse me, do you know where the psychology classroom is?" I asked a short, blonde boy.

"Sorry," he muttered before rushing past me.

"Do you know where- Excuse me- Hey!" Everyone was ignoring me and I'd lost track of Kris and Amber a while ago. And, now I'd lost the bet. I was in way over my head and nobody would listen to me.

The hallway was clearing by the second and I only had forty-five seconds before the bell was going to ring. "Ugh, I'm never going to make it on time," I said, pressing my face into my left hand.

"Excuse me, but where are you trying to go?" a man's voice asked from behind me, startling me slightly.

"Uh, I'm looking for the psychology classroom," I said, turning around.

The man I faced, I'm guessing a teacher, was wearing a light grey suit with a red tie and square framed glasses. He looked like the nerdy type, but he was... unsettling. "I see," he said with a smirk. "Follow me."

"Thanks," I said, following him down the hall.

"It's no trouble at all," he said. His voice was so cool and flat that it was creepy. Everything about this guy could probably set off Spider-Man's spider sense. Yet he seemed... familiar. That was normally a bad thing as I've learned.

"So, uh, who are you sir?" I asked right before we reached the room.

"Ah, yes, I did fail to mention that. I'm your teacher," he said simply before walking into the psychology room with me.

I had to stop at the entrance of the room just to stare at how strange it looked. There were tons of old models of the brain and nervous system. The room seemed really dark. There were even dark brown curtains on the windows to block out the light. On an old wooden desk, next to a skull, there was something that looked like a bird cage under a black cloth.

"Miss Blake, if you would take your seat," my newly realized creepy teacher said.

"Of course sir," I said, taking the empty seat next to Kris. It was only then when I looked up to the out-of-place black-board at the front of the room. What I saw made a shiver run up my spine.

My creepy psych teacher's name was _Dr. Crane. _I prayed to god it wasn't _the _Jonathan Crane, but seeing this classroom, it only made sense. _The Batman _was known for having different back-stories for its villains, but why did he have to be _my _teacher. I chalked it up to the old Blake luck and decided that, once again, I hate Gotham.

"As you may have noticed, today our class has a special guest to introduce you all to our new chapter. For the next few weeks, we'll be talking about phobias and the mental disorders linked to them. Personally, I find this subject to be my favourite. Without further ado, I want you all to welcome Squeak," he said, pulling the cloth off of the bird cage to reveal a tiny little bat. It looked like it was little more than a pup, but it still made some of the more girlish students squeal in surprise or fear. Losers. Of course, I do hang out in a cave with numerous bats.

Upon seeing the multiple girls' reactions, Crane _smirked. _"You see," he said, reaching for the tiny door of the cage, "chiroptophobia is something many people suffer from. I suspect that may even be the reason why the Batman dresses the way he does." Much to my discomfort, he reached into the cage and grabbed the poor creature, making it screech out the same warning call the ones in the Batcave make when visitors are coming. "Would anyone like to take a chance and pet him?"

It seemed like forever passed by with nobody making a move. I felt terrible for the poor little thing, and I was actually happy nobody was volunteering to stress it more. But a few moments later, Kris raised her hand.

"Wonderful Miss Brown!" Crane said with excitement.

"Actually sire, I was going to say that bats are known vectors of diseases, and you should probably be more careful in handling one," she said with a seriously uncomfortable look.

"You make an interesting point. I'll take that into consideration," he said. "Now is anyone willing to come up?"

After a moment's hesitation and a small chew on my lower lip, I raised my hand. "Brilliant! Come now Miss Blake," he said, beckoning me to the front.

I walked up confidently. I was uncomfortable, but not afraid. "Dr. Crane," I said, offering out two slightly cupped hands, my left on bottom and my right ready to lay over the top, "may I?"

"Interesting indeed. It's actually more common for boys to want to touch it, but not many people are interested in holding it," he said, carefully handing me the tiny animal.

"I'm not very normal," I said, bringing the bat close to my face. "Shh, shh, calm down little guy," I murmured, trying to quell the baby's fear. "You just don't like all the big scary people right?"

"How can you talk to that thing like it's a puppy?" one of the more squeamish girls questioned.

"Well, it is a puppy," I said with a low chuckle. "Not like the puppies you think of, but it's still just a baby. Dr. Crane, where did you find this little guy?"

"In my attic actually. I think there may be a family up there," he responded with a pleased look.

"Oh, I see, you just miss your mom and dad, don't ya Squeak?" I whispered. "It's all right. Between me and you, I miss mine too." I quickly put the bat back in the bird cage before looking at Crane and raising my voice to a more audible level. "Sir, if this is a lesson in fear, I think you may want to note that you, Squeak, and I are the only ones that really have a reason to be afraid. Kris is right; bats can carry some really dangerous diseases. Both of us were just at risk, but Squeak was terrified. It was crying out that it was _being _attacked, not attacking. As odd as this seems, I think you should either free it back into your attic or catch the whole family and free them all to the outside. It seems terrible to separate it from its family."

"You're the first person today to realize that. A few of my students have been willing to touch it, but the true lesson was to realize Squeak is the real victim. That's five points extra credit Miss Blake, but I'm interested in how you figured it out," he said.

"I don't know, I guess I just know animals, and bats fly around the manor all the time. If you go near any at night they'll squeak like that and all the ones nearby will fly away," I said. It was only a half lie. Bats did fly around the mansion, but I didn't really go outside at night visibly and tangibly.

"So, to get back to topic, what scares you?" he asked, giving me a look I found extremely unsettling.

"I don't know, probably clowns," I said. Once again, not fully a lie. Normal clowns give me the creeps, and recent events have made one in particular give me the major heebie-jeebies.

"So I would assume one of the city's villains scares you in particular," he said, giving me a knowing smile. Crane was all together creepy. He seriously fit the bill of Scarecrow.

"Yeah, you could say that," I said.

"Well, at least that's a rational fear. As a matter of fact, it's rumoured the Joker seriously injured one of the Batman's new sidekicks during the hostage crisis at the police station. You may go back to your seat now," he said waving me off.

I felt an honest wave of nausea pass over me as I walked back to my seat. I didn't figure people would figure out that fast. Obviously Riddler would know, and so would Joker and Harley. The cops knew too. I guess it would only be a matter of time before it started circulating.

"You alright Kira?" Amber whispered.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said with a fake smile and a quick nod.

"Alright, just making sure," she said, buying my lie.

I was in a class with Jonathan Crane AKA Scarecrow and he just mentioned the worst experience of my life in passing like it was nothing. Added to that, I just lost a bet with Batman and I'm gonna get my ass kicked in training. I was anything but fine.


	28. Chapter 27

**Hey peeps! Sorry it's been a while. I keep getting distracted by friends and life and Ant-Man. That movie was awesome by the way. I actually figured it'd be terrible just because I don't like Ant-Man, but never underestimate the power of Marvel to make a movie awesome. Anyway, rambling. This is just a bit of a gate chapter to the next one, so I'm going to try to push it out soon. Past that, Enjoy!**

* * *

"Ow," I moaned as I face planted on the floor for the one hundred and sixth time that night. "Does it really count as training if all I'm doing is failing?"

"That's how I learned," Bruce said with a grin.

"Then you had crappy teachers," I whined, making no attempt to get up again.

"Come on, get up so we can try again," he said, offering his hand to me.

"Actually, I think I'll just sit here and take a nap on the floor," I said. Bruce hadn't even given me time to regenerate, and after three hours of his style of training, I think I was a little more than half dead inside. He even let the boys go out by themselves to patrol. I wouldn't trust Dick or Danny to go out without supervision, but I do have to remember, Danny was a solo hero for quite a while. Maybe I'd just grown a little too co-dependent. Not a bad thing really. I don't really go out that much on my renegade solo missions anymore, so did it really matter?

"Your enemies won't let you take a break," he said smartly.

"If my enemies were beating me this hard, I'd be Skulker's latest doormat by now. Besides, you're a better fighter than ninety-five percent of the guys I face. Heck, Vlad's one of me and Danny's biggest baddies and you could scrap him in five minutes max," I argued, still enjoying the floor of the Batcave that was getting more comfortable by the minute.

"You were the one that wanted to make a bet you couldn't win. Get off the floor," he ordered.

"Just let me die the rest of the way this time, not half assed," I whined before pushing myself slowly to my feet.

"Are you even using your enhanced strength?" he questioned, helping me up.

"Oh," I said, lighting up a weak blue ecto-charge on my hand, "strength's not at its top right now."

"So the colours are different strength levels?" he asked, putting together the pieces.

"Yeah, I think blue's the weakest, green's the next, and then I'm not sure whether purple or red is more powerful. On any given day, I'm sure purple could be stronger, like it takes more focus, but my red is tied into my emotions, so it really just depends. I prefer to use green just because it won't kill anyone for the most part. After that, I'm not sure if there are other colours," I explained. "Thinking about it, the ghost king uses red, so that may be the strongest, but I don't know."

"Alright, so Danny and Plasmius's energy levels are weaker than yours, but Plasmius is stronger than Danny."

"Yes, unless I'm in a calm state in which case I'm weaker than Plasmius, and right now I'm weaker than Danny. Heck, I'm barely even a ghost right now," I said with annoyance. I was really getting sick of the fact that I was basically useless. My fighting skills in no way matched up to Bruce or most of Gotham's baddies for that matter, my powers were at their weakest, and I was starting to feel more and more like a sidekick rather than a partner. All I could do was slow Batman down.

"Are you alright?" Bruce asked, snapping me out of my trance.

"Just peachy," I lied, forcing a small smile.

"I know you too well. Just don't let whatever it is get in your head when we go out on missions," he said with concern.

"Bruce, I'm not sure-"

I was interrupted part way through by the Batwave. Bruce and I shared a look and then ran to the computer. "Emergency call from the boys," Bruce said, sounding a bit angry at himself for letting them go alone.

"Well quit moping and put it through," I said, breaking him out of his self-scolding in order for him to set them on screen.

"Thank you for your wonderful words of encouragement," he said before opening up a video link.

"Robin, what's wrong?" I questioned.

"Riddler. Ambush. Sucked up Phantom. Need-" That's when Robin got knocked in the back of the head, making Bruce shout at the screen. We saw him laying on the cement, totally unconscious, and when the camera started to move, I took quick action and went ghost, grabbing Bruce's shoulder and making him invisible with what little energy I had.

"What always follows you but you lose it at noon?" the green man asked as he came on screen.

"I'm not up for games dipstick," I responded, sending him a blood-red glare. "You hurt my brothers and I'll figure out if you _bleed _green."

"Oh _please, _don't mock the strength of my intellect. You won't even be able to touch me. Now, _where _is the big black Bat?" he responded, grinning so wide I wanted to break his face in.

"Right here Riddler," Bruce responded, though he was still invisible.

"Hiding are we?"

"Caught us in our 'jamies," I said, never breaking my deep glare at the screen.

"What does the _Bat-Brunette _look like behind the mask?" Riddler remarked, calling up what little knowledge he thought he knew.

"Never mind that Riddler. I'm sure you'll be long gone by the time we get there, so leave a riddle so I can find my partners," Bruce ordered.

"Ah, but you see Dark Knight, this little game is for your newest partner. You're a little old for games anyway. Plus, I'm sure you have tracers on your two comrades. Come and find them. The real game is setting them free, but Shadowrule, leave the old Bat at home. This is our game."

"Like that's going to happen," I scoffed.

"Well, I can always separate you two later and he can be another pawn in my game," Riddler said with another smirk.

"I'll take that under consideration, but I'm warning you Edward, if any one of them is hurt, you're going to feel it ten times over," I threatened.

"I guess you'll just have to play and see," he said before the screen went black.

"Damn it!" I shouted, letting go of Bruce's shoulder and stomping a foot down on the floor. "Why does it always have to be at the worst timing possible?"

"I don't care what threats he makes, you're not going out alone on this one," Bruce said before rushing to get his suit.

"Of all things why does it have to be Riddler! He's ten times smarter than me and all I have is brute force, and right now I don't even have that," I shouted, grabbing my head and dropping down in the chair in front of the bat-computer.

"You should probably get your suit on," Bruce said, walking over while he pulled on the last bits of his suit.

"Right," I sighed, going back into human form and putting my hands on the armrests of the chair to stand up, but Bruce's hand on my shoulder stopped me for a moment.

"You need to calm down. I'm going to be there for you the whole time, and nothing's going to happen to Dick and Danny, I promise," he assured me. "You're not as powerless as you think you are, so-"

"Cognito ergo sum*, I get it," I said, pushing his hand off lightly and standing up.

I sulked over to the glass cabinet, feeling miserable that I was going into a fight were I couldn't win, and grabbed my suit. After looking at it for a second, I turned to Batman and asked, "Do I even have to wear the gloves anymore? I can't leave prints and all they'll do is reduce my grip."

"You don't have to if you don't feel like it," he said, turning to the computer to start a trace on Robin's utility belt.

I blew out a hot breath of air before putting on my suit. What was I, scared? Shadowrule shouldn't get scared. I hadn't been scared since... Since Light. I was feeling that a bit too much really. It seemed like there was always someone bigger than me in Gotham. It was infuriating. As much as I hated to say it, even Superman could match me given the right tech. I couldn't even catch a break at school. My friggin' psych teacher was the king of fear after all.

"Shadow, tell me what you're thinking," Bruce said, coming up to me. I must have been standing there a while thinking.

"I... Well what if... Does Batman even need a Shadowrule?" I stammered.

"Why wouldn't I?" he asked, sounding concerned.

"It's just that... I seem to be doing more harm than good. I keep making enemies that are too strong for me to handle and you have to help me and... What if something happened to you? Or Dick? Or Danny? It'd be all my fault. None of this was ever even supposed to happen. What if I accidently changed the timeline to the point where Danny dies when he's sixteen and you don't make it into that- No, I can't talk about that."

"What?"

"Damn it Bruce, I know how you die and every day I find myself not wanting it to happen more and more. I'm scared. I still can't figure out whether you're a dad or a brother to me, but you feel like family and I don't want to lose you," I said, fighting back tears. I was doubting myself. That made my powers even less dependable or predictable. Sometimes it could make them stronger, but it could make me weaker in more ways than one.

"Do you remember why I became Batman?" he asked in a calm voice.

"So that nobody ever has to feel the way you did when your parents died," I responded, trying to sound calm and not stir any emotions from him.

"Right, now do you know what it would mean if anyone from our team got hurt?"

"We'd feel like you did?" I said, figuring that was what he was thinking.

"Exactly, so I won't let that happen or I'd be breaking my promise not just to you, but to my mom and dad," he said. I'd never heard him call them that. Normally he just called them his parents like he was trying to distance himself from them, but when I turned to face him, I could see the full seriousness and emotion he held behind those words. In that moment, I knew I could trust him more than anyone else in the world, and it helped me trust myself a bit too just knowing he'd be there to back me.

"Alright then, let's get to it," I said with a nod before running to the slide pole.

"So how much of your power is working?" he asked as he ran behind me.

"Well, I have week levels of the basics. My fire should work, little ectoblasts, invisibility, intangibility, maybe flight but it'll be a strain," I said as I jumped in the passenger seat of the Batmobile. I held my bow between my legs and tapped on the top of it while Bruce got in and started the car.

"Just relax; you need to focus your energy. You won't have as much so you need to find a way to use the most of what you have," he ordered as he started driving. It was odd. It seemed like the more Batman he was, the more I felt like Shadowrule. Most of the time I couldn't get past the fact that he was Bruce, the fun and caring guy that took in two equals, not children. We grew up too quickly. But now he felt like the strong, focused vigilante that took in kids too young to really know how to fight for themselves and taught them to be heroes. He was trying to make me a hero.

"We've got a really big team, don't we? Five of us if you count Batgirl, but she doesn't come around enough. Get too much bigger and you'll have to come up with a team name," I joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"I think I'll leave that to you kids. I mean, the most creative name I could come up with for myself was Batman," he joked back.

"How about the Flippin' Rainbow Unicorns? Your codename could be Sunshine," I said, trying hard not to die laughing at the scowl he sent me.

"How about I leave the naming to the boys?"

"Aw, come on Sunshine, you know you love it," I said with a devious grin as I saw him scratch his shoulder. May not be the best time for my plan, but I wasn't expecting this mission.

"You're not going to stop calling me that, are you?"

"Nope."

* * *

*'I think therefore I am' in Latin


	29. Chapter 28

**Hey Y'all! Long time no see, sorry. I hit a block, then school started and I kinda forgot I had to write until my buddy Miles badgered me about it, so you all have him to thank. This is a three part piece. I split it up purely for the reason of length. I have to warn you ahead of time, my brain was having conflicting ideas about which Riddlers' voice it was hearing because of watching old movies and playing Arkham games, so it's probably not right with the TV show this is based in. Anyway, enjoy!**

"If this doesn't scream Riddler," I muttered as the car stopped in front of a bright green building. "Dude, you need a bigger car."

"Why do you hate my car so much?" he questioned as we both got out.

"Next time you get overshadowed and locked inside a tiny box inside your own mind, you'll understand," I responded. "Ew, and he was making my body hit on guys. Why does everyone think I have a thing for Phantom?"

"I'm sure it was torturous," Bruce said flatly, scratching his arm.

"I hear some sarcasm in that," I said with a smile. "Armour chafing?"

"Something like that," he muttered.

"So are we taking the front door?"

"It's probably trapped."

"Sounds like fun," I said, grabbing the door handle and pushing it open. "See, it's dark. Dark totally means a trap," I said, walking straight in.

"You're going to get yourself killed one of these days," Bats muttered as he walked in after me.

"I'm a ghost, I'm already dead," I said bitterly as the door slammed shut behind us and a bright light filled the room. "See, you were right."

"I see you dragged the Bat along even after I told you to keep him out of our game," Riddler said as his face appeared on a projection on the wall. "But, that was only to be expected."

"Yep, nasty thing that. I think I have a bat infestation," I said, getting a light jab and a glare from Batman.

"Well, this is a challenge made for a sidekick, so I'm afraid the hero will have to wait in the penalty box," he replied before one of the tiles on the floor opened like a trapdoor under Bats and he started falling.

"Oh _come on _Sunshine," I whined as I ran to the spot he was standing and looked down at the hole just before it closed. Being ever the overdramatic child, I pressed one fist up against my hip and sighed. "It's not like he was gonna give me clues or anything. He's like my own personal cheerless cheerleader," I said, looking up at Riddler's face on the wall.

"I do hate to tell you this, but this isn't a football game," Riddler spat. Oh Jesus, was he stereotyping my attitude to some kind of sports nut?

"Eh, I hate football anyway. Basketball or soccer's where it's at. Besides, I'd much rather talk myself out of this. So, what's it gonna take for you to let us go? I'm sure you've ghost shielded the place," I said, moving towards the screen a bit.

"I had some attitude adjustment in mind for a specific annoying sidekick. Maybe my puzzles will give you a course in humility, through failure of course," he said with a devious grin.

"One, not a sidekick. Two, you're doing this because you hate my guts, really? Three, I so don't even want to hear about humility right now," I said with annoyance. I was probably digging myself a deeper hole, but in my defence, he was being rude.

"And today you'll try to prove that. Step onto the glowing tile," he said before the projector shut down and one tile on the floor glowed green.

"I hate my afterlife," I muttered before stepping over to the tile. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes before taking the last steps onto it. Just as I expected, when both of my feet were solidly on the thing, it opened underneath of me and I started falling.

I didn't panic on the way down. I had myself prepared for the fall. I tried flying, but that was on the fritz, so I pushed my feet out to my sides so my boots hit the sides of the metal shoot, slowing me down a bit, and I used my hands to steady myself. Eventually it turned into more of a slide right before I hit the end, which was a flap of metal that opened the moment I hit it and nearly tumbled out. That is, I would have tumbled out if there was room. Instead I slammed into a glass wall. It must have been strong because it didn't break, but I couldn't see outside of it.

I let out a groan when I realized how tiny the room I was in was. The floor was one meter by one meter and two and a half tall. "Now I know what the birds that fly into windows feel like."

"This is where the game begins, sidekick."

"How many times do I have to say I'm not a sidekick?" I complained, crossing my arms.

"Cut the act. Are you ready for the game?" he said.

"Why don't we quit playing? I'll admit it, you're probably a billion times smarter than me. I'd never beat you in a chess game, mind you, I suck at that too. But buddy, you're crossing a line messing with my friends," I said. "I don't need humbled; I know I don't stand a ghost of a chance. Just let them go before I actually have to prove how much of a failure I am."

"Is that how you deal with every challenge? By giving up?" he asked smugly.

"No, I normally try to deal with them by making sure nobody gets hurt, skipping the fight altogether if I can. But right now I'm telling you the truth," I pleaded.

I doubted myself too much. Without Bruce there and with my powers gone, I felt helpless again. The only chance in hell I had was if Riddler took it easy on me, and I had a feeling he wouldn't if the bullets he shot at me were anything to go by. I had to quit being so afraid. If I was too scared to handle the Riddler, how could I ever really help the Batman? Bats and caves were my personal playground, and a guy in green was making me nervous. That didn't even make sense. Why couldn't I just feel confident?

"Put your weapons and utility belt in the opening in the wall to your right. Then open the hatch to your left and take out the equipment you will be using for these puzzles. Don't worry, you'll get your precious arrows back when you're done," Riddler instructed, showing absolutely no sign as to caring about my thoughts.

"It's not the arrows I'm worried about. You know how much effort it takes to power-charge a bow with ectoplasm?" I quipped as I did what I was told, putting my bow and quiver into the opening, but pausing for a moment with my hand hovering over the latch on my belt. It was one thing to go bow-free, but I was starting to feel like that belt was my life-line. It did have thermoses, anti-ghost gear, anti-creep gear, and every tool a crime-fighter could ever need to get out of a sticky situation. I wasn't too keen on having Riddler's grubby fingers all over it. But the hesitation was only that, a hesitation. I had to follow his rules if I wanted to save my friends- my family. Soon even that was off, and a panel slid over the opening, cutting me off from my weapons.

Then my gaze turned to my left. Sure enough, there was a handle attached to a panel I figure I could pull out. I grabbed onto it, and with one sharp pull it revealed a belt, a gun, and a small tablet. I had a suspicion that any one of those things could spell trouble for me. "You know Bats has a no-guns policy right?" I said boredly.

"Do you?"

"No, but I'd rather not get grounded from saving the world," I said, narrowing my eyes and crossing my arms.

"Refuse and Batman won't be there to care."

"I hate you," I muttered, grabbing the belt out and giving it a good look. I felt some recognition, and then it hit me. "You know ghosts can't wear these, right?"

"Then it's a good thing you're not entirely a ghost. It's to keep you from cheating," he said as if it were the most obvious thing on the planet.

"Oh, this is gonna hurt," I muttered before clenching my teeth and pulling the belt around me. "I reserve the right to be a whiny teenager. So, I hate you so much," I said through my teeth before finally clicking it into place.

Shouting out in pain, I pushed my hands against the glass walls, trying not to fall to the ground. Just as the electric feeling stopped passing through my core, a wisp of air passed out of my lips. I couldn't honestly tell if it was a bad sign, or if it was just a side effect of having my powers shocked out of me. Either way, I had to be on my guard.

"Alright," I said, breathing heavily while grabbing the gun and putting it in a holster on the belt, "let's get this show on the road before I pass out or blow up. You're damn lucky I'm not at full strength. You could have lost your deposit on the building."

"Here we do riddles, not jokes. The game starts now," he said as the room I was in started to move, making me raise my guard.

_Only an elevator Blake, _I thought to myself. _Calm down, you can do this. _Oh, I didn't really feel like I could, but if I kept telling myself that, maybe it'd come true.

The elevator stopped with the view of a long hallway before the glass slid open. I took to the hallway with a sigh of relief and took a moment to look over the materials I was given. The gun was small, not much power. "Come on Eddy, what do you think I am? A girl? Could have given me something better than a .22," I said to the ceiling.

"Good, you're familiar with it. I won't have to give you a crash course," Riddler responded. "And the name is Riddler."

"Come on you green drama queen, you don't need to give me a crash course in much of anything, not that you really would," I said, clicking the safety on the weapon and taking a look at the tablet. Oh, one of those dotted pattern codes. I could deal with that.

"It would be best to show a bit of respect in your current situation," he threatened.

Tablet. Knowing Riddler, there would be only one pass code. Middle left, up, all the way right, down one, to middle, down to middle bottom. It was as close as you could get to a question mark, and it worked. "Seriously? You're threatening me while you're already threatening me. When are you going to realize that I don't care about myself? Kind of a self-confidence problem, really. Need to work out that bug in the programming."

"I think I'm sick of hearing you already," he said.

"Do you not actually realize that I'm telling the truth and it comes off as a joke because I'm a horrible person? Wait, that makes me just like you! Can't stand yourself huh? That's called depression Riddley-Bear, and you should probably talk to your local Arkham representative about that," I said, now just trying to antagonize him. "I'll make sure you get there. I'll even hold your hand when I walk you through the front door."

"You take after the Joker more than you'd like to admit," he said, just as my hand touched the doorknob to the only room in the hall.

It made me freeze as my core ran cold, but only for a moment. "Alright, I'll stop."

"It appears I've hit a nerve. Let's see how many more I can go for. I can be found in a church, almost any home. I'm famous for Christmas and the America of old. Who am I?"

Before I had time to think or turn the door handle, it swung open to reveal the tall, dark figure of Batman. "Sunshine!" I shouted, rushing forward and wrapping my arms around him in a hug. But I was thinking something else. It wasn't a hug, it was a test. I had a sneaking suspicion that that random ghost sense really meant something.

"I'm glad you're safe," he said, accepting the hug and putting an arm around me too.

"I'm so happy," I said, pulling back from him, "-you're such an idiot." I narrowed my eyes and sent a solid kick to his chest, knocking him back. "Wonderful hint Riddler, but he's not my dad. He's not even Batman. Are you, Amorpho," I said with a smug grin.

"How did you know?" the ghost asked, taking his real form.

"You play a really bad Batman, ghost bro," I said with a laugh. "Batsy doesn't like hugs, hates being called Sunshine, and would never act worried about me in public. Was that the first test Riddler, because I'd have to say, I'm not impressed."

"That was to scale your intellect. Granted, you did better than I would have imagined," Riddler responded.

"I can't tell whether you're trying to stroke my ego or insult me. Amorpho, I'm quite honestly ashamed you'd stoop so low as to hang out with a living loser. Come on Eddy, you're too predictable! Get a few daddy problems all because you won't play baseball so you decide to become a super villain. It's kind of lame you have to be in leagues with a ghost to feel able to stand a chance against me. I always thought you were better than that," I said, walking past Amorpho and into the room. I heard the ghost snicker and looked back just in time to see him phase through the floor.

"Hacking into Arkham's systems? I didn't think you to be that intelligent," Riddler said.

"Even though I could do that, I didn't. Don't you wanna know how I know all of you villains, your back-stories, even who Batman is and I've only lived here a couple of weeks?" I said, trying to out-think him as I looked around this new room. "I didn't have to hack anything. I just know. You're not the only E-Nigma around here."

One door, one computer console with a blinking typing cursor, and a red and a green light mounted on the wall. I guessed those were to tell me if I was wrong. "Well then, tell away," he said.

"Try to make me, but after you tell me what I'm doing in here," I said.

"I'm sure it won't be too hard. I will give you three riddles, one at a time. You will type the answers of those riddles into the computer in front of you. Get all three right, and the door swings open," he explained.

"And if I get it wrong?" I asked, feeling a bit nervous.

"You see, I stole the designs for that belt from Wayne Industries. They're mass producing them to protect the general populous and Gotham's finest."

"And?"

"Though I may have used Wayne's designs, it's been upgraded. Not only does it inhibit ecto-energy, but it can also inject your blood stream with pure ectoplasm. Thanks to some tests my ghostly assistant helped me to carry out, I know that that enhances your... natural abilities," he said.

"So if I screw up, the belt increases my strength and weakness at the same time?" I clarified.

"Exactly," he responded. "Now, what has an eye, but cannot see?"

I closed my eyes and hummed in thought. It seemed easy. Maybe a storm? That'd work. It has an eye, the eye of a storm, but it's not tangible so it can't see anything. But I had to feel sure before I typed it in. I really didn't feel like getting shocked at boosted power levels.

"I must know, and I'm sure you know the answer, where did these ghosts come from?" Riddler piped up curiously.

"Another dimension. Specifically, Phantom's," I said as my fingers hovered over the keys. God I hated riddles.

"You speak as though you're from another place."

"Yeah," I said as I slowly started typing. "I didn't even think Phantom's world was a real thing."

"Then where did you come from?"

"A place where your life doesn't matter and Bats really is only a symbol," I said as I debated whether or not to hit the enter button.

"A world with no Batman, interesting. How did your world not fall under super-villains or alien invasions?"

"Just never been a worry," I answered before pressing the button. "Ow!" I shouted in startled pain as I felt a thick needle pinch my skin under where the belt laid. "Damn it, wrong one!"

My arm mirrored the light on the wall, flashing red with powerful energy. It felt so good, yet so bad at the same time. The belt retaliated with a round of painful shocks, cancelling out my new-found strength like Clark on Kryptonite. And just like ol' Super-boy, my legs gave out from under me, and I would have slammed into the floor had I not grabbed the bolted down stand the computer sat on. "Wrong answers suck. Whatever happened to pressing the power button and restarting when you're about to fail the mission?" I complained after the shocks stopped.

"I'm afraid this isn't a videogame," Riddler said smugly.

"How do you know?" I said with a grin, getting back to my feet again. I couldn't quit. I had to stay strong. "Well if it wasn't a storm, I guess my second guess has to be right."

I typed in 'needle' and I heard a comforting ding accompanied by the green light. I let out a sigh of relief. If that wasn't right, I didn't know what I'd do.

"You slice me with knife and when I die you weep beside me. What am I?"

"Okay, that one's easy enough that even I can get it, but oddly enough, I've never actually cried because of an onion. Maybe they just don't come as strong or fresh in my area or something," I said, quickly typing it in and watching as the light turned green again.

"Yes, that was a bit easy. Hmm," he said, obviously trying to think of a better one. "The more you think, the more I shrink. What am I?"

"Oh, that one's mean," I said, walking over to one of the walls and leaning against it while I thought.

"How did you get your ghost powers?"

"Haven't the slightest, and if I did, I wouldn't tell you," I said as I continued to sort through all the possibilities in my head. _Something you use up then..._

"How did Phantom get his? I assume he's part human too."

"Who says I'm part human? I could just be like Amorpho and can change my shape," I said, trying to misdirect him. _When you think... Maybe something to do with school?_

"Never mind that. Which of you was the first hero?"

"You sure do ask a lot of questions. The better question is, who noticeably stays _cooler _under pressure," I hinted. _To do homework you have to use a writing utensil. When you think, or work, your pencil gets smaller. _"Aha! I got it," I said, rushing over to the console and typing it in. The light on the wall flashed green and the door swung open. "Yes!"

"Congratulations, you could answer three simple riddles. Not very well I might add," he said as I walked into the new room. Across the room from me, there were two glass tubes. Both had a Robin inside. I was starting to get an idea of where this was going. "This room could give you an advantage. Free the real Robin and I'll allow him to help you through my puzzles. Don't worry, I won't harm your teammate either way. The rule is, however, you're only allowed to ask him one question. When you've decided which one is real, shoot the target above the tube."

"Alright, what to ask, what to ask..." I muttered, thinking about it. "Oh I know! Hey Robbie, what did I learn you should never do with Batman today?"

Riddler must have instructed them to answer one at a time, because the one on the left spoke first. I knew if he said make a bet, he was my Robin even if the second one said the same thing because that's just copying. If he said anything else, it wasn't him. "Argue his orders." That was Amorpho, but I waited for the real Robin anyway.

"Make a bet because he knows he'll win," the one on the right said with a grin.

"And you couldn't have warned me earlier?" I joked as I quickly pulled out the pistol, aimed, and fired at the target over his head, making the tube rise up into the ceiling, freeing Robin.

"As I remember, I tried to. Bats is going to be mad at you," Robin said, looking at the weapon in my hand.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I didn't have much of a choice. I'll ask forgiveness, not permission. I'm just glad you're alright," I said, holstering the weapon and putting an arm around his shoulder.

"Now, move back to the elevator and I'll send you to the next floor," Riddler ordered.

"Yes sir."


	30. Chapter 29

"I don't like this Shadow," Robin whispered as we headed back to the elevator.

"Neither do I, but I'm gonna chalk it up as another day in Gotham City. Don't worry bro, we got two minds to work with, even though mine is automatically better," I said with a mischievous grin.

"You know, you can't honestly be that much smarter than me," Robin retorted.

"Eh, you may be right. I don't honestly know how smart you are. I just know you do some pretty dumb things every once in a while," I joked, earning a punch in the arm. "Ow!"

"It couldn't have hurt that bad," he responded. Though not visible, I could just feel him rolling his eyes.

"Totally human right now, remember? And you should know, I was kind of a weakling back before I half died," I said. "Not some cool muscular kid like you. I can't even do one pull-up."

"Well good thing Riddler's all about mind games," he said as we stopped outside the elevator. "Speaking of mind games, this thing must be torture for you."

"You have no idea, and now I have to share it with you. Good thing you're a pipsqueak," I said before sighing and walking in.

"Who are you calling a pipsqueak?" he whined, coming in after me.

"What other pipsqueak, pipsqueak?" I said, closing my eyes and blowing out a breath. I felt like I was trapped again, surrounded by bars in a place where I couldn't escape. "Let's get a move on Riddler."

"It appears I'm learning all kinds of information. Now, on to the next challenge," Riddler responded before I felt the box moving.

I took in a few shallow breaths. They weren't really supplying the full amount of air I needed, but they were better than just holding it entirely. My brain was caught between the need to hyperventilate or hold its breath like a free diver. This whole claustrophobia thing was becoming a bit too much to handle. _Ugh, I'm so stupid. Why do the least scariest things in the world have to freak me out?_

Just moments before the elevator stopped, I felt a hand on my shoulder. For a second, I felt like I was back at home and it was my brother comforting me like he did when things got really bad. But when I finally opened my eyes, I snapped back to the fact that I was a long way from home, and it was Robin who was making sure I was okay. I gave my adoptive brother a weak smile just as the elevator thumped to a stop.

When the door opened, I barrelled through it so fast that you would have missed it if you blinked. "This room I'll leave you to figure out on your own," Riddler said with a very smug tone.

"Cool cool," I said, gazing around the room after I composed myself. There were four pressure plates on the ground. I assumed there had to be some order to hitting them, but I really didn't want to mess up. "Hey Robin, try that one, far left," I ordered, pointing over to it. Maybe if he stepped on it, it wouldn't hurt me.

Robin, being the show-off he is, ran and did a hand-spring, landing right on the plate. Too bad for me, that was the wrong choice. My eyes widened as I felt both my temperature rising and my tolerance level of people dropping. I tried to hold the power back as much as I could, but at that point, I was hot enough that it was starting to sting even me. I could see heat mirages coming off my hands. I didn't honestly think my suit could handle that much stress for long. If I focused, I had enough energy to change forms. It'd be extremely painful, but I could push through that. It would at least save my suit. Bruce made it fire-proof, but I doubted it was volcano-proof.

"Shadow, what's happening?" Robin questioned in panic, running over towards me.

"Robin, stay back!" I ordered, feeling the uncontrollable rage taking over. Not to mention if he touched me head get third degree burns in a second. I took my chances and let the rings of fire spread over me, while at the same time, green sparks jumped from the belt. It hurt, but I dealt with it. Then I aimed both of my hands at the nearest wall and let out the strongest fire burst I could manage. It didn't do much damage but cause a small burn mark. While the sparks hurt, at least the pain of burning was gone. Not that it probably would have killed me, but it was extremely painful.

"Are you alright?" he asked, finally daring to come near me.

"For now. Vlad has the focus to still phase through walls while he's wearing one of these stupid ghostly shock collars," I said, motioning to the belt. "I however, do not. I take it this isn't a guessing game, right Riddler? Not really your style."

"No, it's not. Mind if I ask more questions?" the disembodied voice asked.

"Hell, I don't care, it is your thing, just don't expect me to answer. Robin, don't touch any more of those plates until I say," I ordered, pulling out the tablet. My guess was that was my best chance.

"Okay mom," Robin retorted, coming to look over my shoulder.

"It's really not that big of a riddle that Vlad Plasmius must be a half-ghost like yourself, and Phantom has to be the same as yourself," Riddler went on.

"Jury's still out on the whole ghost, half-ghost thing, and how did you come up with that?" I asked curiously.

Robin gave me a strange look and asked, "Why are you talking to him like he's another cape?"

"It passes the time. Besides, Riddler's not that bad of a guy. All he does is search for knowledge and go after people that stepped on him first. I just have the bad luck of being one of those people," I said casually.

"Given your behaviours, you treat ghosts like humans, but the only one you've associated with for long term is Phantom. Given that fact and the idea that you wouldn't let a normal ghost haunt you in your half-life, I must assume that he lives in that half-life with you as a human."

"Smart, if I really am part human. What about Vladdy?" I asked, searching through any app on the tablet to find something. A lot of them were shut down, so there wasn't much to look through. It was kind of annoying.

"It would take an idiot to not realize that a new millionaire showing up at the same time as a ghost by the same name has to be that ghost."

"I'm so happy not everyone in Gotham is an idiot," I muttered as I continued to fiddle with the device.

"Why are their names binary and yours is a mononym?"

"I suppose my name would be binary, either if you misspelled it or you used another possible name. If you want a first-last name version, I would go for Danielle 'Dani with an i' Phantom the second, but I'm not one to be a rip-off," I said. "Hey Robin, take a look at this."

"It's just the background screen," he remarked.

"Think with a more open mind," I sighed, rolling my eyes. "Look at the background picture. What do you notice?"

"There's four distinct centres of focus!" he exclaimed, finally realizing it.

"Thank you captain obvious," I said, holding down a finger on one of the focus points.

A little pop-up showed on screen. It said "Stay on me and go to two." I was starting to realize what the advantage of having Robin there was.

"Alright, stand on the one closest to the elevator and to the right," I ordered.

"Hidden in plain sight. I thought you'd never figure it out," Riddler said, a smirk obvious in his voice.

"And I can't tell whether you're mocking me or feeling slightly proud. I'm sorry to say, I don't look good in green, no matter what Batgirl might say. You know, what with the eyes and the hair, it'd just be too much," I joked, opening the other pop-ups on the device until I realized where I needed to stand.

"I must admit, I feel I greatly underestimated you," he said.

"No big. Everyone does. I try not to underestimate you bad guys. I've had kind of a bad time with getting ambushed or getting my ass handed to me because I didn't think something or someone would be hard to beat. And I always get caught with my pants down, metaphorically speaking," I said, taking my place. "Now Robby-boy, move over to that one, and don't be a show-off."

"Yes mom," he complained, slugging off to the pressure pad I pointed to.

"Seriously? You call me mom one more time and I will burn that stupid stuffed elephant I saw in your room to ashes," I threatened.

"You weren't supposed to tell anyone about that!"

"Whoops, my bad," I said sarcastically, moving on to the last pad just as he stepped onto his. After I did so, the door at the other end of the room swung open.

"It may have been better to give you Phantom as a first companion," Riddler said tiredly.

"No, that probably would have been worse," Robin deadpanned before I gave him a smack on the back of the head.

"Shut up bird-boy, or I might have to haunt you and your friends for a while with some... ghostly oddities," I threatened. "Besides, I'm starting to think it's more fun bugging you."

"I am so telling Bats," he bickered as we walked towards the open door.

"Oh, don't tell me he's going to ground me! Boo-freakin'-hoo," I argued back. "I can walk through walls, what do I care if he tells me to stay in my room?"

"We're talking about the same Batman, right? He would put so many ghost shields in your room it wouldn't even be funny," Robin said. "Actually, it would be."

"After tonight, I have a feeling he's going to be pretty mad at me," I said with a mischievous grin.

"Oh, you didn't choose tonight to start that stupid prank war, did you?" he asked as we walked through the door.

"I didn't mean to, it just so happened this was not his lucky night. Hope he's not tied down, cause he'd be squirming in his suit by now. Thank god for helicopter leaves," I said with a laugh.

"You did not."

"Let's just say it wasn't his armour chafing. Ugh, another guessing game," I complained, finally looking at the two new figures. Well, really only one new figure. Amorpho looked just like Danny, it was just trying to find out which is which.

"Shadow, this thing's shielded. I can't get out," one of them said.

"Forget that stupid doppelganger, I'm the real one," the other said, standing defiantly with crossed arms.

"So either Danny's having a mood swing or he's freaking out," Robin muttered, making me giggle.

"Your last challenge was easy, so the stakes will be higher on this round. Get the correct Phantom, he'll be sent down to await you at the next level. Choose the wrong one- well, let's just say leave it to your imagination," Riddler remarked. "I'll give you five minutes to decide by any means."

"Easy, Danny, make a snowball," I ordered. When neither of them did anything, I sent them an odd look.

"Why should I?" the angry one snapped.

"I can't at the moment," the other one huffed.

"Angry Danny, you know why. Frostbite said ice was a rare power, so I doubt Amorpho can do it. Come on, you know I can barely do it. I know the real Danny can use it as easily as riding a bike. Are you really willing to throw your life away for arrogance?" I said.

"Yeah, you're one to talk about arrogance. If someone even utters the words 'weak' or 'sidekick' in your presence you flame out like a toddler with anger management problems. And I thought the fruit-loop was bad."

"Don't you ever think there's a reason for that? Maybe, just maybe, I want people to look at me with respect. But no, mister 'my hot crush is my biggest fangirl and people love me so much they chase me down the streets' wouldn't understand. My name wasn't just made for me, I have to-Agh!"

This time my anger was making me too hot. The shocks were pretty constant from being in my ghost form before, but the ecto spike radiating from my skin sent an electric ripple so strong Robin had to catch me as I clutched my gut. My eyes glowed red and I let out a hot breath before pushing away from Robin.

"Are you alright?"

The angry Danny's eyes seemed lighter. His hands touched the tube's wall in a posture of complete worry. It was in that moment I knew that had to be my Danny. He was angry, but he still worried about other people more no matter what the circumstance.

"Hey Robin?" I asked.

"Yeah?" he responded.

"Can you shoot the target over that one's tube? I'm feeling too dizzy to get a clear shot," I said, offering him the weapon.

"I guess, I've never done it before," he said, taking it from my hand.

"I'll help you," I said, getting around behind him. I flicked off the safety, adjusted his hold, and said, "Just hold on tightly, aim, and pull the trigger."

He flinched after the shot rang out. I figured he would. I did my first time, but the constant electricity running through me was not only hurting me to the point of exhaustion, but also messing with my thinking. I wouldn't have trusted myself with a butter-knife. But I trusted Robin. I was desperate after all; not that Robin's useless or anything. He was great, just not with a weapon Bruce dubbed "the greatest enemy of peace." I honestly would have found satisfaction in teaching my _little brother _how to shoot if it weren't for the fact that it was a do or die scenario.

But when a reaffirming buzzer sounded through the room and Danny fell through the bottom of the tube, probably on to the next level, I let out a sigh of relief. I guess I can make a good teacher. Riddler gave a prompt to go to the elevator, and we followed.

For a second, I imagined it was the elevator going out of the Batcave, but so much for wishful thinking.


	31. Chapter 30

"Um, Shadow, do you wanna like... hold my hand or something? I'm not sure how this works," Robin said awkwardly as we stepped into the small space.

"I'll be fine bird boy," I said, forcing a cocky grin. "Don't need you bruising my ego any more than it already is."

"What was that last part?"

"Nothing," I quickly shot back. "Can't even do my typical calming techniques," I muttered with annoyance.

"What's your normal techniques?" he asked with a puzzled look.

"When I do use them, meditation, and more often than not singing. But I'll live. What do you do Bat-boy?"

"I don't know, breathe, chill. A big part of doing all the stuff I do is not being afraid," he said.

"Somethin' your parents taught you or Bats?"

"Both."

"Well, maybe that's something you can teach me," I said with a weak smile.

"I'd hate to ruin the lovely moment you two have going, but the last challenge does await you," Riddler's annoyed voice called.

I looked up in shock to realize we'd already made it, and I didn't even notice. After shaking off the feeling, I ran into the new room. The odd part was that it was completely empty. I looked over to Robin for some sort of help, but he looked just as confused as me.

"Stumped already? How terrible," Riddler commented.

"Ub-up-up-up-UP! I do _not_ need to hear you bad attitude negative Nancy," I said, pulling out the tablet. To my confusion, the lock was gone and the only thing on the stupid device was an infuriating Riddler Flappybird look-alike. "God damn it Flappybird. Rob, you play this game as many times as you possibly can. You can't get mad at it. If you make it to the end, a secret door will open," I said, handing the boy wonder the tablet.

"Really? But why me?"

"Seriously bro? You're the best video game player I've ever met. Do it," I said, sitting down on the floor and crossing my legs.

"Cool! What are you going to do?"

"I need to think over some things. Just get to work," I ordered.

He sent me a nod and I went on to calming my nerves and thinking. I knew for a fact that there is no end to that game, but it occupied Robin for a while. At least he wouldn't bug me when he got bored of waiting for me to think. That game could occupy me for an hour.

So, while he frustrated himself, I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing. Once I cleared my head a bit, I realized one small detail I would have totally ignored if my head wasn't so stumped. There was a strange aching in the back of my throat. It was oddly cool, like a ghost sense that wouldn't come out in that obnoxious wisp. So there had to be a ghost nearby. Obviously it was Amorpho, I think. Maybe it was Danny, or maybe something else. I'd never really saw the ghost sense as much of a power, so I never tried to focus it.

I guessed I could rule out Danny. My body should have been used to his ecto-signature. For the most part, he never even set off my ghost sense unless he was in ghost form. No, it must have been the face changer. But what direction was he in? I felt a pull in the air coming from my 10 o'clock. It was almost as if my body was being attracted by an invisible force. Maybe all ghosts were connected, or maybe ectoplasm had its own gravitational pull, either way, not important at the moment.

I silently stood up, pulling my cloak around my shoulders as I passed by the still occupied Robin. My hands and forehead found themselves against the wall, feeling and trying to find something out of place. It wasn't too hard. With a few light knocks of my fingers on the surface, I realized it was thinner there than everywhere else.

I turned around with a sly grin and called out Robin's name, getting his attention before kicking a hole in the wall.

"You had me play that game for nothing?" he shouted incredulously.

I couldn't contain my laughter. "Bro, these challenges are made for me, and you're not the best gamer ever. What number'd you get to?"

"Ten," he said.

"Yeah, I got a high score of nearly a hundred at four in the morning after training for three months," I countered. "Now, ladies first?"

"Jerk," he responded before dropping the tablet and flicking his cape in annoyance as he passed through my new doorway.

"Aw, something I'm picking up from Daddy-Bat," I said with a snort as I followed him in.

The first things I noticed when I went into the room were the three thick glass cylinders. The one directly in front of us contained Danny. It glowed with a familiar green energy and his face showed pure irritation. To my left and right, there were Batmen (Batmans?). One appeared to be frustrated, a laser torch thrown on the ground next to him, and the other appeared to be meditating and remaining calm. The frustrated one started to move his lips, but no words reached my ears. Soundproof glass.

"Last puzzle. Get this right, and you all walk free. Mess it up, the room floods with poison gas," Riddler's voice called out as a heavy metal door slammed shut over where we came in. "I know you ghosts may survive it, but I don't think you'd enjoy seeing a dead bird and bat."

"That does not sound nice," I muttered in a clenched voice.

"We can do this Shadow," Robin reassured me, stepping around and looking at both of the bats carefully. "Just do what you did in the last room."

"I'm not sure I can. I've never even thought about doing it before and the residual ectoplasm in the room might throw me off. I can't risk it," I said nervously.

"But you're Shadowrule! You brag all the time about how you can do everything," he complained.

"Do you believe everything I tell you, flyboy?" I shouted with frustration, clenching my eyes shut.

When I opened my eyes, I had to blink for a second. The Batman to my right was _smiling_. It wasn't just a smirk either. There were nearly teeth. A hand snaked up, and in a simple gesture, scratched his shoulder. My expression changed to mirror his, but with teeth shining. Not only did he figure out my itching powder prank, but it was going to end up saving everyone's lives.

I blew him a kiss through the glass and mouthed, "I love you," before reaching up a hand and, through gritted teeth, shot a strong green ectoblast at the target over his head.

A reassuring click came from the belt holding back my powers and it fell on the floor. I took in a breath of relief and turned back to my human form as a huge wave of heat spread out from my chest. "Remind me not to get my temperature checked for a couple of days," I said before falling back on the floor in satisfaction.

I heard the whooshing of glass moving and soon a shadow loomed over me. "I'm not impressed with the itching powder on a mission, but I do have one thing to say to you."

"What's that Bat-daddy?" I asked with a smirk.

"I will get you back," he threatened.

"And the prank side of Batman is kind of scary," I cringed jokingly, standing up. "Now, let's catch some bad guys."

Batman's gaze shifted to a glare as his stare turned to Amorpho. Said ghost laughed and said, "I think I've had enough attention for one day." With that, he phased through the floor.

Bats sent me a look to go after him, but I shrugged and let my hand glow a turquoise to show him my power level. He turned to Danny, but the ghost only responded with, "I don't really see that he caused that much damage. He didn't really directly hurt us."

"And he's probably long gone by now, not that you could tell. Shape changer, remember?" I said with a shrug.

"I have a feeling you two planned this for some reason," Batman said, glaring at us before throwing a baterang and blowing a hole in a wall, revealing Riddler right behind it.

"How did you know he was back there?" I heard Danny whisper to Bats as Riddler started in on a rant. All he got in response was a shrug.

"Riddler," I said, shutting him up before he could continue on about how we cheated. Running a hand over my neck, a habit I picked up from Danny, I said, "I'm sorry I was a jerk and that we ended on bad terms. If you weren't a bad guy and I didn't have crazy super powers, I'd probably say you were pretty cool and I honestly hope that you can rehabilitate into a contributing member of society."

It was probably the lengthiest, most awkward thing I'd ever said, but it needed to be said. I really didn't want to be on Riddler's hit list. There was no reason to be. Based on the confused look on his face, I'd say I got my point across too. "What?" he questioned.

"I make a lot of mistakes, but one I know not to make is angering an intellectual when it's unnecessary. That just seems like a really douche thing to do," I said, avoiding eye contact as B handcuffed him.

* * *

"I don't get it," Robin said as we walked out of the room as the cops arrived.

"What's that Rob?" I asked.

"Why did you apologize when he attacked you?"

"It's not about who attacked who," Bats said as he walked up behind us. "Shadow just tried to stop a rivalry before it ever took off."

"Basically we won't have to deal with another huge fruitloop," Danny added.

"But how?" Robin persisted.

"I gave him exactly what he wanted. For a mixture of reasons, he was mad at me, and I let him be mad, but then I let him take the victory even as he was losing," I said.

"So in order to win, you had to lose?" he reaffirmed.

My hands twisted and rubbed on my reacquired bow. "Exactly," I said as I watched Riddler get in the back of a police car as the red-eyed driver sent me a smirk. I returned it with a nod.

"Sometimes losing is the most satisfying way to win."


	32. Chapter 31

It had been a week since the encounter with Riddler, and things still seemed to be carrying a weird vibe. There wasn't much wrong, a mugging here, an armed robbery there, but it was almost too calm, like a storm was brewing. I blocked the thought out of my head though, and life went on nearly normally.

School was alright. Other than Crane AKA Scarecrow's creepy lectures, things were going good. I hadn't even got into any fights, though apparently one of Dick and Danny's friends let the news that we were Bruce's two new adoptees out. Not that it was much of a problem; it just got me some unwanted attention, especially from the male population. Ew.

With the Dark Knight's horrendous after school hero program, I was honestly starting to feel stronger and more confident in my fighting. I was still just a high level street fighter though, not quite the martial arts expert Bats is. I could even take down low level thugs without using much other than slightly superhuman strength. It didn't seem to mean much to Danny or Robin, but I could always see the smirk tugging on the edge of Batman's mouth when I helped the Bat Family in taking out the congregations of bad guys.

Getting on to more present matters though, it was terribly boring. It was just hitting midnight, and we had split into teams for patrol. Batgirl, on break from college for some reason or another, Robin, and Batman went east, Danny and I headed west. The only instructions we were given were A, don't blow anything up, and B, call in if any of the big baddies show their faces. Needless to say, it appeared bad guys were taking a vacation, so Danny and I flew up to the top of the Wayne Industries building to get a good view of the city. Danny hated it.

"Come on! Doesn't anyone get robbed in Gotham anymore?" he whined, throwing his head up in an overly-exaggerated gesture to the sky.

"Still missing the stars? Because if this is really about crime, I'm trying to enjoy the calm before the storm, don't jinx it," I said.

"First, yes. Second, what storm?"

"We live in Gotham City, there's always a storm right around the corner. Next thing you know, Catwoman will be having it rain cats, and Ragdoll will bring down anime dogs just to spite her," I said with a sigh.

"Don't you think you're being a bit overdramatic, Shadow?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nope," I said, over popping the "p" and standing up.

"What are you doing?"

"So many questions. I'm about to make you think differently to get you out of this caged bird funk you've got going on," I said, moving to stand behind him. "Now stand up."

"You better not push me off," he warned.

"Danny, you think so little of me," I said, feigning innocence. With a light chuckle, I put my hands over his eyes. "You wanna see the stars, right?"

"Yeah, but don't hit me in the back of the head either," he joked dryly.

"For my next trick, I am going to need some audience participation and perfect silence," I said, causing him to huff indignantly and close his mouth. "Alright, when you open your eyes, you'll see a beautiful black scene glittered with thousands of shining lights, no stars, but just as important, because each one of those lights holds a meaning. Behind each of those lights is a life, maybe a whole family. Maybe those families are normal. Maybe they're arguing. Maybe, just maybe, in one of those families, the scientist parents are talking incessantly about the latest anti-ghost tech while their kids lean back in their chairs face palming. Now Danny, open your eyes and tell me if you see stars," I finished, removing my hands.

"Is that a common thing for you?" he asked, looking at the ever-changing city lights.

"Occasionally. On the nights when the clouds covered up the stars, I'd watch the fireflies twinkle and blink in and out of sight across the bean fields. I just always had the feeling like the lights had a voice, a story that goes beyond the meaning of just being there," I said wistfully.

"You must be getting lessons from Sam," he said with a laugh.

"Not all appreciation for nature comes from Sam, Danny. As a matter of fact, I went through one serious eco-friendly phase back in junior high, then I went Goth, then high school hit and it was all about emo neon hair and black skinny jeans."

"You are so weird," he said with a laugh.

"Batman to Phantoms," a static voice called over our ear pieces.

"Yeah boss?" I asked, rushing to answer before Danny and sticking my tongue out at him.

"Strange disturbance six blocks from your location. We're heading there now, but I'm sending directions so you can get there first," he answered.

"Got it. Shadow out," I said, turning off my communicator before facing Phantom and pulling out my Batwave.

"Isn't it strange he didn't give us any details?" Danny asked in confusion.

"I'd say so, unless even he doesn't know. Keep on your toes, we may have gotten hacked. We head over and case out the area. If anything seems sketchy or too much to handle, we call in the Bats," I said, looking around for any signs of something bad going down.

"Good idea," he said, floating up and stretching his arms a bit.

"Alright, you're better with maps, lead the way," I said, tossing him my phone-like device.

"Got it," he said, catching it.

My feet rose off the ground and I charged up some energy in my hand. When in glowed red, I smiled and nodded at Danny to show I was ready to go.

"Finally got a full tank?" he asked.

"Runnin' on three-quarters, but it's good enough," I answered as we flew off.

"Just be careful, alright?" he shot back.

"Yes Sam," I answered, nudging him in the side.

"Alright, so turn right on 56th," he muttered.

"I'll have you tell me where that is," I said, smiling and pushing my annoying glowing green hair back.

"I'm sorry, but you really do look like a carbon copy of Kitty," he said with a laugh.

"Watch yourself Phantom, before I leave second degree burns on your hide," I threatened lightly.

"Only second? I'm surprised."

"Do you want me to make it third?"

Neither of us could remain serious at that point. The laughing and banter passed the time as we made it to the indicated location. Danny and I ducked behind the edge of a roof and looked down to the centre of the street. Standing there was a grey skinned man covered in tubes wearing a black mask.

"Can you give me a heads up?" Danny asked, looking over at me.

"Sure. Little big guy's Bane. Bad news," I said.

"Little big guy?"

"Those tubes on his arms turn him into a giant red monster. If he gets to that point, take out the tubes. Every other attack is useless. Fight smart, not hard."

"Got it. Status with Bats?" he continued.

"The first time they met, he kind of... broke nearly every bone in B's body," I said, rubbing my neck.

"Well, let's not mess up," he said, releasing a breath before looking at me with a face of confidence.

"Alright, here's the plan..."

* * *

Bane had just morphed forms when an arrow exploded on his back. His head shifted, and then his body followed the motion. "I don't believe that a few arrows are enough to stop me child," he said, locking eyes with me as I lowered my bow a bit, nocking another arrow.

"Good thing I have more than a few arrows," I said as an explosion lit up behind his feet.

"She has a partner," Danny said, floating down to land on the ground.

"Sending children to do a man's job? Batman has gone soft," Bane mocked as he looked back at Danny.

"Maybe, but we're the two kids that are going to kick your ass," I threatened, raising my bow.

"And here I thought it would be the other way around," he responded, turning towards me and raising a fist up so I could see it.

"Oh shit," I gasped as I realized the pump control had a glowing green liquid inside. "Phantom, get out of here and call Batman!" I shouted as he started twisting it, releasing the fluid into the tubes with the venom.

"What?" he questioned, not realizing the serious problem that was arising before Bane had turned his way and started charging.

"Danny!" I shouted, running at Bane and jumping on his shoulders. I covered his eyes, twisted his head, and prayed it would be enough to get him off course of Danny.

Luckily, I did get him away by barely an inch. I let out a sigh of relief, but that was only until a giant arm came back and grabbed me by the quiver, pulling me off and making me come face to face with the monster.

"Shadow!" Danny shouted.

"Call Batman!" I ordered, trying to turn intangible, but I couldn't get free. I was trapped, dangling in the straps of my quiver.

My eyes widened in fear as Bane smirked, pulling back his free hand in a fist. It felt like I'd been hit by a tractor going fifty miles an hour, and then I crashed into a wall. As I was coughing out blood, Bane started talking. "Sending away your partner when you're fighting a losing battle. The Batman hasn't taught you much, has he?"

"Didn't need to," I choked out. "I can take you out all on my own." I struggled my way to my feet and had two rings of fire spread across my body, then shot an ectoblast powered arrow at Bane, trying to get the pump on his arm. He just smacked it out of the air, causing a small green explosion.

"As I've said, it will take more than a few arrows," he said, never losing his smirk. He charged straight for me, but I turned invisible and ducked out of the way at the last second. "Hiding won't get you anywhere."

After taking a moment to wash the terror off my face, I split off a duplicate and had it fly to the opposite side of Bane before reappearing. "Then I won't hide," it said.

"And neither will I," I said, turning visible and standing up. Both my duplicate and I raised our bows, shooting them straight at the hulking red monster in front of us. While the smoke of the explosion was distracting him, the duplicate rushed him and grabbed one of the tubes on his back.

She ended up getting it loose, but not off, dripping green-yellow venom as Bane grabbed her around her abdomen. He started squeezing, but the duplicate didn't fizzle out. Her pain just echoed back to me. I screamed, gripping around my stomach as she struggled to get free like a rat in a trap.

"Let her go."

I turned my head to the voice. Batman was standing with the three others by his side. "Batgirl, go check on Shadow. Danny, Robin, code blue," he ordered. Code blue, neutral distraction. Don't try to take ground.

"Shadow, are you okay?" Batgirl asked, rushing to help me get to the ground without falling.

"The duplicate, I can feel it. I'm not sup- AH!- not supposed to be able to feel it. Can't pull her back. Please, stop Bane from hurting her," I said, hugging my arms around myself.

"Oh my gosh, you're bleeding," Batgirl said, rubbing away a line of blood coming from the corner of my mouth.

"Just stop him. I heal fast, but I can't heal if I'm dead," I ordered.

"Batman," she whispered after turning on her communicator.

"What's your status?" he responded, echoing even into my earpiece.

"Pitifully single, but waiting for the right girl. You?" I groaned through my piece.

"Shadow's seriously hurt and getting worse. You guys have to get the duplicate away from Bane," Batgirl said.

"But she's not supposed to be able to feel the duplicate," Danny said with confusion.

"The blood I'm choking on can attest to it," I said, rolling onto my side and coughing it onto the sidewalk.

"Sounds bad. I'll get you loose," Robin said, jumping on Bane's back and pulling off the tube on the arm he was holding her with with his boe-staff.

The moment his grip slackened, the duplicate turned back into energy and phased back into me. I took a breath of relief as the fire rings went back over me, turning me back to my human form. I looked up just in time to see Danny pulling out the tube on Bane's other arm. Before my eyes started closing, I shot a blazing red ectoblast at the last tube on the back of his neck. A smirk crossed my lips as venom gushed out and Bane started shrinking, then I passed out.

* * *

"What were you two thinking? Kira was bleeding internally," Alfred reprimanded.

"BTW, not as fun as it's cracked up to be," I remarked.

"Why were you after Bane anyway?" Bruce asked, pacing in front of us.

"That answers that question," I said weakly.

"What question?" Bruce asked suspiciously.

"We got a call from you that there was a disturbance. We thought it sounded fruity, but we went in, cased out the area, then went for an attack. He kind of surprised us with the whole ecto-venom thing," Danny said, rubbing his neck.

"Upgraded with a piece of "stolen" DALV tech. Gordon's investigating that," Bruce added.

"I ordered Danny to get out of there and call it over to you guys while I kept Bane busy. The duplicate should have shorted out, not sent its pain over to me," I said. "Turns out arrows aren't strong enough to even cause a dent in Bane's power and quivers make good handles for bad guys to snatch you up with."

"Wait, somebody _hacked _your comm?" Dick questioned.

"So we have a new big player in town," Barbara said, punching a fist into an open palm.

"Whoever it is, they're going to face justice for this," Bruce growled.

"I certainly hope so," Alfred added. "Now, I believe it is time for you all to get a good night's rest. Master Bruce, you have business tomorrow. Ms. Gordon, you have breakfast with your father to attend to, and you three have an exciting day ahead of you."

"As long as exciting doesn't involve more bleeding, I'm up for is," I said tiredly as my head lulled to the side.

"I'll carry her upstairs," Danny said, carefully picking me up bridal style before shooting up through the roof of the cave.

That was all I got to before I was out like a light.

* * *

**To answer a question before it's asked, no, Bane has no idea he was being used as bait. Just saying.**


	33. Yin's Investigation

**Hey Y'all! Got a little mini-chapter here. It's a bit of a side story, and it's written in the third person. Obviously I enjoy the fact that Yin is one of the only real intelligent people on the GCPD, so I'm going to have her live up to that character aspect. There's going to be a few more of these scattered throughout the story, so tell me if you enjoy it or if there's something that sticks out to you that needs fixed. I'm really proud to say I think I got the character voice right though, so enjoy!**

"Hm," Detective Yin hummed to herself as she walked around the new crime scene.

Bane had gone through earlier. It should have been an open and closed case. The perp was caught, everyone was going home, and they all had the town heroes to thank. _I remember when Batman was still considered a vigilante, _Yin thought to herself. She honestly hadn't believed that in a long time, but her curiosity was getting the better of her. She needed to know who was behind the mask, especially with these new super-powered sidekicks.

Yes, she trusted Batman, she just wasn't sure she trusted the company he kept. Yin already had a sneaking suspicion of who his partners were, but she wanted to be sure. She needed proof.

"Yin, what are we still doing out here?" Detective Ethan Bennett asked, looking around and whistling at the sight of the damage.

"You heard Gordon and Batman talking. There was a serious fight. They dragged Shadowrule off unconscious and looking deader than usual. There might be some DNA trace evidence of at least one of Batman's crowd. The girl doesn't even wear gloves," she responded, searching the ground.

"_The girl _doesn't even have fingerprints," Ethan responded, looking at his partner with a sad expression. "Remember, that crazy clown burned them off with acid when she became his most recent victim."

"We can't let personal feelings cloud our judgement. I don't even want to turn them in, it's just that somebody needs to know who they are in case one of them goes bad and we have to stop them."

"There's five of them _plus _the Justice League. I'm sure somebody will know how to find them," he argued.

"Wait a second, I think I just found our answer," Yin said as she got down on the ground and opened a suitcase filled with evidence collection materials. Next to her was a small puddle of still wet red-orange blood.

"This feels just wrong, and what if it's not even her blood?" Bennett continued.

"Do you know anyone else that could bleed orange and not be in the morgue?" she responded, collecting a sample and putting it in an evidence bag.

"And how do you intend on getting that tested without the commissioner's approval?"

"I'm thinking that it's time to cash in on some favours."


	34. Chapter 32

**Hey everybody! Sorry I've been going slow. I try to lump story archs together because I absolutely hate being left in a suspended wait. I got a new follower that likes to comment a lot, and the constant notifications on my phone kind of encouraged me to keep writing.**

**As for the question posed by Ciestess about why Kira doesn't tell Bats about Scarecrow, all I really have to say is that she is a Batman geek. Every Batman geek knows good villians build a good hero, so spoiling who Scarecrow is might affect his development and make him not as good of a Batman. I hope that explains your concern.**

"You're going where?" I shouted incredulously, staring at Bruce with a look of shock.

"I have urgent business over in Jump. That's in California," he reiterated.

"But that's all the way across the country! What if the Batman's needed?" I continued to argue.

"Don't worry, we've got this Kira," Dick said, waving off the thought with a hand and a cocky grin.

"Yeah right bird boy," Danny muttered before getting tackled by an annoyed Dick.

"Do you really think I'd leave four teenagers alone to protect Gotham?" Bruce asked, crossing his arms.

"Boys, cut it out. You're proving his point," I hissed, causing both of them to look up with awkward laughs.

"You're getting us a babysitter," Danny question with a bored expression, "really?"

"He's not really a babysitter. He needed to collaborate with us anyway. One of his villains was spotted in Gotham yesterday," Bruce said.

"Who is it? Martian? Lantern?" Dick questioned.

"Hawkman, Supes? Is it Arrow? Arrow would be awesome," I said with a grin.

"Actually, it's me," a new voice answered after a rush of wind knocked some papers on the table next to me onto the floor.

"Darn it," Danny muttered with an annoyed expression. "I was hoping for Lantern."

"Kids, this is B-"

"Barry Allen, AKA Flash, AKA Scarlet Speedster. Forensic scientist for the Central City PD. I know," I said smugly, cutting off Bruce.

Bruce sent me a stiff glare before turning to Barry and saying, "That settles that. Barry, this is Kira Blake, James Fenton, and you know Dick." I flashed my eyes in a bright red and nodded my head at Barry with a smile. Danny did an awkward wave. Dick just smiled a mischievous grin.

"And I'm going to go out on a limb here and say scary eyes is also Shadowrule, Jimmy-boy there is Danny Phantom, and obviously Robin," Barry said, extending a hand for either Danny or me to shake.

"Yeah, but unless we're out in public, you can just call me Danny. It's my actual name," Danny responded kindly, accepting the offer.

"Sorry, I think shaking hands is specifically reserved for ass kissers," I said as Barry's hand moved to me. "Do you really not trust us to survive two days?"

"I don't think Alfred could handle you three," Bruce said with a light smile. "Barry, tell them about this problem of yours while I go get ready."

"On it Bats," he said, mock saluting as Bruce walked out of the room. "Story time kids," he added with a clap.

"Um, have you ever dealt with teenagers before?" Danny asked, looking at him with confusion.

"No, normally they faint from excitement or walk away," he said, laughing awkwardly.

"Obviously you've only ever met fangirls," I said with a smirk.

"Ugh, fangirls," Danny said with a shiver.

"Moving on?" Dick drawled.

"Robin's never had fangirls, that's why he's trying to shrug it off," I said with a grin.

"You haven't either!" he shouted.

"Oh no, I get fanboys. It's ten times worse," I said with a shiver.

"Anyway, bad guy... So, James Jesse, also known as-"

"Trickster?" I asked, cutting him off. "Good thing the clown's in Arkham, otherwise we'd have a turf war on our hands."

"You sure do know your facts," Barry commented.

"She was a comic book nerd before she became a super hero," Danny said, pointing a thumb at me.

"At least I didn't drop my pants to impress a girl," I shot back.

"That wasn't on purpose!" Danny cried, his cheeks turning red.

"Okay?" Flash said in confusion. "So do you guys want to help me find him?"

"I say we should wait for him to strike next. It'll be easier to track him after that," Dick said intelligently.

"It'll be at night. In Gotham, it's always at night," I said darkly, getting a confused look from Barry as Bruce came back in.

"She's right you know," Bruce commented, setting down a suitcase filled with god knows what, probably clothes and hidden bat gear knowing him.

"I guess you guys are going to have to teach me," Barry said, looking at us.

"Alright, I have to go, but there is a fundraiser for the children's hospital going on here tonight, and since I can't be here, I'm going to need one of you to give a small speech-"

"Not it!" Dick shouted, touching his nose.

"Not it!" Danny copied, catching on quick.

"Not- Damn it!" I pouted.

"Alright Kira, here's some note-cards for the important things to go over, just add your own flare to it. And no cursing," he directed, handing me two white cards.

_"Mia azeno!" _I cursed in Esperanto.

"Remember to look your best. The press will probably want a few pictures, if not to film it. Now I've got to go. Be careful you three, respect Barry, and don't blow up the cave," he ordered before he started to rush out the door.

"Why do you always suspect we'll blow up the cave?" I questioned.

"Do you really need to ask that?" he asked before shutting the door.

"While we wait," Barry said, jumping up on his toes in excitement, "what do you kids want to do? Movies? Video games? Flash museum?"

"Why would we want to go to a museum about you?" I asked, rubbing the back of my neck awkwardly.

"As a matter of fact, why would you want to go to a museum about yourself?" Danny added.

"You guys have fun. I need to work on my chemistry before I fail the class," Dick said, walking towards the stairs.

"If you need help, I am a scientist," Barry called.

"I should go monitor the bat computer and study the villains flashcards Kira made me," Danny said, turning intangible and going down through the floor.

"I'm failing three different classes and come from a different dimension, so I'm going to go work on my speech," I said, floating towards the living room.

"Uh, Kira, can I hang out with you while you do that? I've done a lot of speeches before-"

"Bare, just come along before you word fumble yourself to death," I said with a smirk. "I know my way around a speech, I just don't like giving them."

"Great!" he said, rushing past me in a whoosh of air. I shook my head with I smile. I only offered to have him hang with me out of pity, but at least I had someone to entertain me while I worked.

"So, what was Danny talking about villain flashcards?" he asked when I finally entered the room.

"I made him a set of cards to study over with almost every detail I could think of for Bruce's baddies," I said, floating over the couch and dropping down, leaning against the armrest and spreading my legs out.

"Kira, if I catch your feet on the couch again you're going to be doing all the dusting for the next month," Alfred said calmly as he walked past.

"Sorry," I said lamely, automatically moving my feet to the floor.

Barry came down and sat on the opposite side of the couch from me, putting his feet on the cushion in the centre. "The same goes for you Master Allen," Alfred said from the next room.

"How did he-"

"Dude, he's got better super-vision than Clark," I responded, shaking my head as Barry moved his feet to the floor.

* * *

"How do I look?" I asked, setting my lightly curled hair into place and spinning around once.

"You look great. Purple's a good colour on you," Danny remarked.

"According to Al. Sam still better?" I asked with a smile.

"Of course," he answered with a grin as I lightly punched him in the arm.

"Hey, you two ready? The party starts in five minutes," Barry's voice asked, accompanied by the sound of a hammer pounding wood.

"Yeah, now stop shaking before you pound the house down Thumper," I answered as I walked out in my semi-formal dress shirt and slacks and Danny trailed behind me wearing a well fit suit. The three boys, Barry included, all matched, except for the ties. Danny's was a light blue, Barry's a bright red, and Dick's a forest green. "You all look... nice."

"I hope I look better," Barbara said, walking up to the group. "Are you the babysitter?" she asked, turning to Barry.

"Barry Allen," he greeted, offering her a hand.

"Barbara Gordon," she said, accepting it. "I hear our favourite hot-head gets to give the speech tonight."

"Ugh, let's not talk about it," I whined, pressing my head into Barry's shoulder in frustration for a moment. "I'm gonna sound like such a tool."

"You'll be fine," Barb said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Besides, we don't want you getting upset and burning your outfit."

"Just call me Cinder-ella. Let's get downstairs. _Jimmy_, you're on greeting. Dick, you watch the donations. Barry, Babs, you're with me on 'mingling'," I ordered before strutting towards the stairs.

"Don't call me Babs," Barbara said, following after me.

"You know this isn't a military operation, right?" Danny called.

"You've never hosted a party, have you?" Dick asked, giving him a skeptical look.

* * *

"So you're Mr. Wayne's latest charity case. How quaint," a stereotypically posh guy said as he came towards me.

"Oh, I actually prefer ward," I said through teeth clenched in a smile.

"My, all the verbal grace of a street bum too," the man remarked with a laugh. "What's that you're drinking? I hope they're not serving you Champaign at your age."

I looked down with wide eyes to see that my flute of water was boiling lightly. "Sparkling water actually," I said, chugging it down quickly to destroy the evidence. The man scoffed and I tipped my cup to him in a false salute before wandering off.

"Wasn't that hot?" Barry asked, coming up to me as I set my glass down on a passing server's tray.

"I can't feel it," I shrugged.

"Cool, but if I were you, I would have worked some of that magic and made him regret being so rude," he said.

"Oh, I am," I said, pointing a thumb back to the man as an invisible duplicate made him _accidently_ spill his glass of red wine down the front of his suit.

"Being your official babysitter, I never saw that," Barry laughed, lifting up a hand that I proceeded to high-five.

"Hey Kira!" a familiar voice called over the crowd.

"Kris!" I greeted, pushing through a bit of the group to get to her.

"Man, so this is the crowd you hang with," she said, whistling and looking around.

"Not so much. These people are like super villains that wear suits rather than costumes," I said with a bit of frustration. "How'd you get in?"

"Your butler called me actually. He said you could probably use a normal person to talk to before you lose your sanity," she said with a grin.

"Oh God bless Alfred Pennyworth," I breathed, looking up to the ceiling and clapping my hands together.

"A little overdramatic, aren't you?"

"Ugh, if I get called a charity case or a street rat one more time, I'm going to go more insane than all of this town's crazies combined," I cried exasperatedly.

"Cool off kiddo," Barry said, coming up to both of us.

"I don't think that's physically possible," I said with a wink, much to Kris's confusion. "Kris, this is Barry Allen. He's one of Bruce's friends."

"You can call me Uncle Barry," he said, sending Kris a smile and putting an arm around my shoulders.

"Yeah, she's not going to do that," I deadpanned.

"Hey, your speech is in five minutes. Do you need to do anything to prepare?" he asked, shaking my shoulders.

"You wouldn't happen to have a noose, would you?" I groaned.

"You'll do fine," Kris said, pulling me away from Barry.

"Thanks for the boats of confidence. I'm going to head up towards the stage," I said.

"If anyone says anything bad about ya, Uncle Barry will show 'em their place," Barry said with a grin.

"_Sure _Allen," I drawled, turning to rush towards the stage.

Within seconds, I had lost sight of the group. It didn't really take much in a crowd so big. I wasn't really on that high of alert, but a small glimpse of colour caught my eye. It was sticking out of the end of a man's sleeve. I turned to go after him, but by the time I got turned around and into a clearing, he had already mixed into the crowd and covered the colour. Muttering a small profanity, I turned to go back towards the stage, but a different character cut me off.

"That's quite a mouth for a girl your age," Detective Yin said, stopping my frantic search.

"Oh yeah, it's um... something my brother taught me," I said, struggling for a lie in my unfocused mind.

"You know, normally you're better at faking stories than that. I should know, my partner's fallen for a few of them. Now, is something wrong?" she retorted smartly.

"What? Stories? What stories? Uh, and nothing. Nothing's wrong at all. What would give you that idea?" I rushed lamely, rubbing the back of my neck as my cheeks started turning bright red. "So, um... what's up?"

"I was actually wondering what you could tell me about ghosts, specifically Shadowrule and Danny Phantom," she said.

"Sure, ghosts. They're ectoplasm based creatures with crazy powers and are most the time douches. Shadowrule and Phantom are superheroes. Shadow's fire based and Phantom's ice based. They're Batman's sidekicks. Why does it matter?" I said shortly, trying not to reveal too much.

"My partner told me you and your brother had been travelling with the pair. I figured you would know more about the two."

_Damn, _I thought_, stupid lies and bad back stories coming back to bite me in the ass. _"Yeah, but they didn't tell us much past the basics. Introduced us to some of the nicer ghosts, warned us away from dangerous ones, got us food when we needed it. You understand, right?"

"I see. So did you knew Shadowrule was only half ghost?"

_Oh man, don't panic, don't panic, panicking... _"I really didn't know Shadow all that much. She didn't really like hanging around us. Phantom was more my guy. He just said she had some sort of spectral manipulation thing and she had to change forms when she rested so that if another ghost attacked, they might leave her alone and only go after him. I never really questioned it. Just thought it was a ghost thing."

"Alright, one more question. Did they happen to share any information about who they were when they were alive?"

"Actually, it's considered very rude to ask about a ghost's past life. As a matter of fact, some of them don't even have past lives and they have always just been ghosts. That being said, _if _they told me about their pasts, and I'm not saying they did, I think it's a matter of their privacy that I'm not allowed to tell you about it."

"Of course, I understand your loyalty to your friends. If I'm not mistaken, you have a speech to get to," she said slyly. I didn't like that look she was giving me. Knowing Yin's character, she was trying to prove me as Shadowrule, but I had to at least try to stop her.

"You know, they aren't too bad, once you get to know them. I've never met Batman and I haven't personally talked to them in a while, but I think he's a good influence on them. Don't do something you'll regret, especially if it affects Danny. And don't bring this up with Jimmy. I'd rather my little brother not be interrogated," I finalized before walking past the slightly confused detective. I can't read minds, but I assumed she was attempting to wrap her mind around what I had just told her. I wanted to make it sound like it was a warning, except it was really just a veiled threat. Bad things happen when you play with bats.

Next goal on the agenda, I needed to warn the others there was a high probability that the Trickster was at the party. My phone was in my hands within seconds. I used the pre-programmed numbers to message Barry, Danny, Dick, and Barbara a text stating: "SOS. May be more TRICKS than treats." With the warning out, I slipped my phone back into my pocket and jogged up to the podium.

I fiddled with the microphone for a moment before I suspected it was on, and greeted the room. "Um, hello everyone? Oh good. Can we just take a moment to appreciate the fact that I got this mic to work first try?" Calculated laughs rippled through the room. _What I'd give to be crammed in a thermos right about now. _"I hope everyone's enjoying the party, and I must apologize on behalf of Bruce Wayne, as he was unable to attend tonight due to some urgent business in Jump. So tonight, I'll be your stand-in host. For those of you who don't know, my name is Kira Blake, and I am one of Mr. Wayne's most recent charges. Basically I have to give this address because I lost the game of not it." More laughs, some actually genuine rang out. "Thanks for that. I might find it funnier if it wasn't true. But this isn't about me. Tonight is about all the money all of you have helped raise for Gotham's Children's Hospital. With people like you, we can make a difference."

As they clapped, I searched the room for the one anomaly I had caught earlier. Low and behold, one eerily familiar man was haunting the corner, not participating in the applause. His gaze fell directly on me in the most bone-chilling stare I had ever felt. In the exact moment that I started to sweat, he pulled at his collar to reveal patterns and colourful stripes.

That look, it was a glare with a smile plastered on. It unnerved me in a way that only the clown prince himself could. Before I even knew it, the words had escaped my mouth. "I'm scared." My friends started moving towards the exits. Men wearing sunglasses started spreading through the room, and mutterings of confusion spread, some of the more intelligent guests followed my gaze to the corner of the room. The man, who I could only assume to be the Trickster, jumped up on a nearby table.

"There's nothing to be afraid of sweetheart," he said, loud enough for all to hear. "No wonder Brucie snatched you up. You really do know how to speak your mind."

Without skipping a beat, I had a duplicate split off invisibly from my back and sink through the floor. I needed some help and there was no way I could change forms. "Who are you?" I questioned, feigning ignorance.

"Why isn't it obvious? You seemed to be able to spot me out in the crowd. Why don't you say my name?" he urged, the men in sunglasses pulling out guns and eliciting screams from women throughout the party.

"James Jesse," I responded, stepping back defensively.

"And for those who are less informed?"

Gulping, I let my eyes wander, searching for a security blanket. That blanket ended up being Ellen Yin, Ethan Bennett, and Jim Gordon reaching for their side arms, and a complete lack of Barry Allen. "The Trickster."

On my mark, he tore off his suit to reveal the outrageous outfit below. As he did, shots rang out, hitting the ceiling. I ducked down in cover behind the podium, holding my arms above my head as I focused on my clone's objective. It had already returned from retrieving my bow in the Batcave and was waiting invisibly in the corner to receive my orders. Once my focus shifted from my body to its, I silently started taking out the guys in sunglasses. Trickster was talking. He was trying to call out the Wayne kids. I guess I was included in that. I made sure not to move my primary body. It needed to stay safe, but it'd look suspicious if I disappeared. "Come on Flash, hurry up so Shadow can make her appearance," I murmured from my main body.

"Strange, I wouldn't expect a Gothamite to think of Flash as her salvation, especially not paired with that Shadowrule character."

Crap. I wasn't paying enough attention to Jesse. He was at the podium, dragging my body out from under it by the arm. I skipped back into her and stared him in the eyes with a mix of fear and determination. "I'm not from Gotham, now am I? Besides, everyone knows Flash wouldn't let some guy dressed like a bat deal with you," I said, trying to push his hand off of me without using super strength.

"She's right you know," a voice said as a red streak zipped into the room. I let out a sigh of relief and used the Trickster's moment of distraction to pull myself away and run towards the red-clad hero.

"You've got to get me out of here B," I whispered to him.

"Good idea," he muttered back. "Why don't we make this a safe playground Jesse?"

A few red streaks (with some invisible help) later, the room was empty and I was in the Batcave, along with Robin, Batgirl and Danny. Rushing, I threw my suit on over my clothes and grabbed a spare bow from a container under the bat-family suit cases. I nodded to Danny and Robin, who were ready with their suits, and we started going up through the ceiling invisibly. Batgirl would come in as a surprise attack after the initial assault. Once we were in the main party area, Danny dropped Robin on the ground, and he went right to work attacking bad guys.

"Hey Flash, need a little help?" I called, seeing him being surrounded by some explosive spinning tops.

"Yeah, that'd be a good idea," he said, going up on tiptoes to avoid them.

"Phantom, freeze the floor!" I shouted, slowly starting it myself. When his eyes turned an icy blue, the room froze so fast it put my cyrokinesis to shame. All I could do was whistle in shock. "Good job Danny-boy."

"Thanks, but I don't think my skate rink should be your main concern right now," he said.

"Right," I agreed, skidding over to the now frozen bombs and opening a shield around them before igniting them and containing the explosion.

"Fire and ice for the win," Robin said with excitement, sliding up next to me.

I smiled, letting out a warm breath that fogged in my face. "Let it snow," I said before pulling out my bow and firing a net-trapped arrow at a thug behind Danny.

He looked at me, then back at the trapped thug in shock, then fired an ectoblast directly at me. I let out a startled yelp and ducked before it hit me, only to find that it hit a thug about to shoot me. I couldn't help but let out a relieved giggle before I shot more trap arrows at surrounding thugs. Danny and Robin joined in the fight, and Flash fended off James Jesse's bag of tricks.

"So, I see the bird and the ghosts, where's the bat?" Trickster questioned as he sent marching wind-up attack robots at Flash.

"Caught the flu. We told him to get his shots," I retorted as I watched Danny lock the last thug in an ice dome. Then came the perfect timing for Yin, Bennett, and Gordon to rush back in.

"Freeze Jesse!" Yin shouted.

"No offense Yin, but I think we've got the freezing part covered," I said, laughing as I threw a snowball at one of Trickster's robots before it could shoot a laser at Flash. "Bull's-eye!"

"It's April and we're stuck in a winter wonderland. Great," Yin muttered as she shot away a few of the robots.

"Playtime's over," Trickster shouted, pulling out a giant bazooka looking thing from behind his back. God knows where he was hiding it. I pulled the detectives and Gordon back, Danny putting an ice barrier in front of them, much to their protest. While the ghost boy had his back turned, the wannabe clown leveled the weapon at him.

"Danny!" Robin and I both shouted. We both sprinted to save him as Flash was too preoccupied by Trickster's other weapons, but Robin was closer. He smashed into the side of Phantom just as the blast slammed into both of them.

"No!" I screamed, sliding to a stop right next to the grounded boys. "Their eyes are closed. Why are their eyes closed?" I questioned, pressing my middle and index fingers against each boys' throat. It was all wrong. Danny's heart was beating steady and normal for a human, and Robin's was slowing down. "Robin, wake up. Robin!" I shouted, shaking his limp form. A bright white light drew my eyes to Phantom. Rings were spreading out from his waist. "No!" I cried, grabbing his arm as he turned back into human form, wearing the Phantom suit Bruce had given him.

"Shadow, what's wrong?" Yin yelled from behind the barrier Danny had made.

"Phantom has a pulse, Robin doesn't. I don't know what's going on," I said hysterically.

"Don't worry," Batgirl called, grappling into the room over the barrier, "I'll watch the boys, you help Flash."

I took a long, shaking breath and nodded my head. She slid in next to me and I got up and ran over to Flash, shooting away any remaining robots. My next arrow sailed towards Trickster, but missed his face by two inches. I sighed and strung my bow over my back. The heat detector on my quiver blocked any further attempts at shooting blunt heads.

"Why are you putting your bow away?" Flash whispered, leaning in to me.

"My fire core locked the mechanism on my quiver," I responded in a hushed voice.

"Why did it do that?"

"It's a safety protocol Bats installed to keep me from killing anyone."

"Joy."

"Hate to ruin your conversation time, but get flashed Flash!" Jesse shouted, grabbing our attention just in time for Barry to push us out of the way before a beam could hit us both.

"Dude, ew," I said, lighting up a fire in my hands and throwing it at him.

Trickster ducked just in time, but the heat singed the top of his colourful hair. "You've done it now. NOBODY MESSES WITH MY HAIR!" he shouted, charging the gun again and firing. This time it hit the ground just below my feet, knocking me down and onto my back.

"Ow," I groaned as I pushed myself up with my hands, only to see the barrel of the weapon pointed right at my face. "Oh shit."

Flash, who was already at my side, only just realized what had caught my eye. "Come on, get up," he said, trying to help me up but slipping on the ice.

"Flash, move!" I yelled, trying to push him away, but it was too late. I felt the crackle of energy before I ever saw the light. It was like lightning and fire, spreading from Barry's body to mine and back again. Once the energy died down, my head hit the floor, leaving only the view of Trickster getting away with the donation money before blacking out.


	35. Chapter 33

"-dow? Shadow, wake up," a voice said as it drifted into my ears.

"Five more minutes Red," I muttered, curling in on myself.

"Hey Shadow, a smoking hot brunette supermodel just walked in," Danny said.

"Where?" I questioned, shooting upright. "Wait a second..."

"And that works on you and Tucker," he said with a laugh.

"Oh shove it," I said, pushing him back as I stood up. "Wait, is Rob-"

"He's breathing. He has a heartbeat, but it's so low you would hardly notice it," Batgirl said with concern.

"How about you Danny? Are you feeling alright," I asked, feeling oddly more concern for him than the bird.

"I feel fine, a little hot, but fine," he answered, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Have you tried accessing your ghost powers?"

"Not yet, might as well try now," he said, stepping back and lifting his arms. "Going Ghost!" It was an awkward and miserable failure to say the least. Barb and I shared a look, both silently agreeing he needed to drop the catch phrase, but he made it worse by trying again. "I'm going ghost?"

"Nothing," I remarked, patting a hand on his shoulder.

"Well, what about you?"

"Me?" I questioned.

"Well, if I can't use my powers, maybe yours got messed up too," he suggested.

"Alright then, Red, sock me in the jaw," I said, turning to Batgirl.

"What? Why?" she sputtered, giving me a confused look.

"Because if for some reason my powers are being latent, and it feels like they are, a good jolt of pain or annoyance might wake them up," I said. "Unlike Danny, my powers are emotion driven."

"Alright," she said, warily raising her arm for a punch.

"Don't worry about it. Batsy-boy's socked me with worse during training," I reassured.

She took a deep breath, still seeming to be unsure, but finally let her fist fly, quickly making contact with my face. Once again, to say it ended terribly was a complete understatement. I completely lost balance, falling to the floor while holding the offended zone. "Okay, next time I suggest someone hurts me, punch me Danny," I said in a pained voice. "Powers are definitely out."

"But isn't by asking me to do that-"

"Don't question me Daniel," I said, standing up again with a hand from Barbara.

"You are so weird," he remarked.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, so I've heard. Let's wake up the boys if we can," I said, walking over to Flash. "Hey speeds-for-brains, wake up," I said, nudging him with my fist.

"Five more minutes," he muttered, rolling over.

"No, no, I said five more minutes, you can't go stealing my line," I said, pushing him roughly.

"Ugh, fine," he said, flicking open his eyes. Except, they weren't his eyes. They were wrong.

"I'm assuming the speed force doesn't normally make your eyes glow red, does it?" I said, having a bad feeling grow in the pit of my stomach.

"Not to my knowledge," he said, sitting up. "Ghost powers don't normally make your eyes red and yellow, do they?"

"No, ghost powers are what stop that from happening," I said, choking on my words a bit. _"Bad bad, very bad," _I thought. _"Of course my eyes would be like _his. _And of course Flash's would turn red, because not only had I lost my powers but-"_

"I think our powers got switched," I said, finally voicing the thought as I looked over to Rob as he was starting to stir.

"Power switch? Does that mean the same for-"

"Robin has Danny's powers, Danny has none, you have my powers, and I'm assuming I have yours," I said, cutting him off.

"This is bad, very bad. Bats is going to kill me when he finds out," Flash said, jumping to his feet.

"Believe me, being dead would be a relief right now."

_**Line Break**_

"So, can you do anything but run fast?" I asked as I sat on the observation table in the Batcave.

"I can look great while doing it," he remarked, tapping a syringe he had just filled with my blood.

"I'm being serious," I snapped.

"So was I," he said, putting the blood away and going on to Danny's. "You can regenerate quickly, run fast enough to go back in time, even go intangible, but not like how ghosts do."

"Instead of becoming an object it's vibrating molecules so fast that you go past it, right?" I asked.

"Yeah," he responded, pricking a needle into Danny's arm, who made the mistake of complaining. I made some remark about him being a wimp before Barry continued talking. "So, what kinds of things can ghosts do? Well, besides the basics of course."

"A lot of things that I'm not going to tell you about because they're highly dangerous," I said, walking over to the computer.

"Come on, I'm not a kid," he complained, finishing up with Danny.

"You can burn down Gotham with a single angry thought. I'd rather you just take some time trying to find your happy place until we get this all figured out," I said. "Speaking of happy place, I'm starving. Is starving normal? And cold. This cave needs a heater."

"You're metabolism has increased, even above your normal abnormally high marks. You need to eat a lot. And I don't know what you're talking about. I feel hot," he answered.

"Maybe not having a fire core makes you notice how ridiculously low temp Bruce keeps it down here," Dick remarked, shivering to prove his point.

"We are in a cave after all. It's a bit difficult to heat giant expanses," Barbara remarked.

"Do they always produce such remarkable geniuses at Gotham U?" I joked. "I'm going to go upstairs and make like a million strawberry ice cream sandwiches while you do your thing."

Now, what I meant to do was lightly jog over to the elevator. I'm not saying that's not exactly what happened, I'm just saying running into a wall before I could register what was going on was not what I had in mind.

"Ow," I groaned, holding on to my head.

"Kira!" Danny shouted, running over to me. "Are you alright?"

"Just... wasn't expecting that," I said.

"Come on," Barry said after putting his things away, "why don't I help you with food. I only need to get my blood sample, and I'll do that after you all go to bed."

"Yeah, I'm just going to head up now," Robin said with a yawn, floating up towards the ceiling. "Wait, where did my legs go?"

"You have to keep your head clear while you're flying, otherwise they turn into a ghostly tail," Danny explained. "Kira hates it when hers go. You can ask her for tips later."

"Oh thanks, recommend me as an expert just because you don't understand not having legs is creepy," I remarked, grabbing on to Barry for support as we got on the lift.

"It just takes getting used to. You might like it someday," he defended.

"Just too weird for me," I said as Barry pressed the button to go up.

"Sounds a bit too strange for me too. Of course, you won't tell me how to do anything so..." Barry started.

"I'm telling you, ghost powers are dangerous, especially mine. I wouldn't wish them on anyone, so hopefully this all blows over quickly. I'm not overly keen on running into any more walls," I said.

"It gets easier," he said as the doors opened to the living area.

"God, even the upstairs in cold," I said, walking over to sit by the fireplace.

"I'll go get you some food while you... readjust to being normalish," he said awkwardly, walking towards the kitchen.

I watched as he exited the room and Danny came to sit next to me. "So, we're not ghosts. No more snowy white hair and glowing eyes. No fighting Boxy or shouting boo."

"Well, the Box Ghost will show up whether we have powers or not," I said with a light laugh. "But the glowing auras and crazy hair will come back. Just give it time," I added, staring into the glow of the fire with both fear and envy. _"It can burn me now," _I thought. _"The thing that I am endangers me."_

Fire had started to feel like a friend. Warm, soft, protective, yet uncontrollable. And there I was, unable to touch the flames and feel it bind with my skin.

"What will we do if they don't?" he asked.

"A thought for another day Danny," I said. "Now all I care to think about is how empty my stomach feels and how cold this mansion is."

"You really are starting to sound like Tucker," he joked.

"I heard word that someone was asking for snacks, and it wasn't Mr. Allen," Alfred said, coming up behind us.

"Yeah, that's probably going to be happening a lot for a little while," I said, turning around to look at him. Upon seeing me, he gasped, accidentally letting go of his serving tray.

It was odd though. Everything seemed to slow down for a moment. Feeling confused, I stood up and jogged over to him. His expression wasn't really changing, and his silver tray was falling extremely slowly. Feeling a bit awkward, I grabbed onto it, pushed its nacho contents down so it would settle on the plate, and then looked back up. Within a blink, everything was going in normal time. "Al, are you alright?" I asked, putting the tray onto a nearby table.

"I'm fine. You're eyes just... startled me a bit. Sorry for that. I've never really seen them that colour," he said, grabbing onto his chest. "Fast reflexes."

"Thanks. I was just thinking that yours seemed rather slow," I said with an awkward laugh, rubbing my neck. "Cool, you brought nachos!"

"I guess an electrically charged apple doesn't fall far from the tree," he remarked as I started munching chips at ludicrous speed.

"Hehe, sorry," I apologized, wiping cheese off the corner of my mouth.

"Yep, totally Tucker," Danny deadpanned as Barry came back into the room carrying an entire gallon of ice cream and a spoon.

"Now I can call you Uncle Barry," I said, finishing off the nachos and rushing over to him.

"Here," he said, handing it to me. "Now I expect you to eat the entire thing. You need it to keep yourself from getting sick."

"Why can't my parents say stuff like that?" I muttered, taking it and rushing back to the couch. "God bless strawberry."

"Don't... get a brain freeze," Alfred sighed, walking out of the room with the defeat of civilized manners.

"Does ice cream normally taste this good? I mean, most of the time it melts before it's in my mouth," I remarked.

"You really have given me a curse. Ruining ice cream now?" Barry complained, sitting down next to me.

"Yep, maintain that level of annoyance, right there. You're turning my ice cream into the perfect soft-serve," I said, shovelling it down at a little bit faster than humanly possible.

"I guess I'm good for something," he laughed.

"Yeah, you are," Danny muttered, walking out of the room and rushing up the stairs.

"What's wrong with him?" Barry asked.

"Being a ghost means a lot. It's not just the powers; it's being part of something more. And for Danny, it's what gives him the ability to be a hero," I said as I finished the ice cream. "I'm a hero because it made logical sense to help me learn how to control my powers. Danny's one because he always has been and his powers gave him the ability to be himself and protect his family."

"So Danny likes being a hero and you don't."

"Well, it's not that I don't. I like punching down bad guys, talking people out of being stupid, even a little bit of challenge. I don't like when it gets scary. I don't like fighting people that are stronger than me. I really don't like when it threatens my friends," I ranted.

"So you're human, and a hero," he said, wrapping an arm around my neck.

"I like you, you're warm," I said with a yawn.

"And you need some sleep," he said, trying to get up.

"Not so fast Allen," I said, pulling him down. "You're the only thing keeping me from dying of chills."

"Alright, but only for tonight," he said, yawning himself.

"Night Uncle Barry," I murmured as my eyes drifted shut.

"Night KB," he responded.


	36. Yin's Resolve

**Small intermission before an analysis of the Bat family problem. Here's a little tidbit from Yin. I figure after her minor interrogation last chapter, it only makes sense.**

"You have to admit there's something going on with them. Who gets robbed and then just doesn't show up afterwards?" Yin questioned her partner.

"You heard Alfred, they were scared, shaken up. I wouldn't want to talk to the cops after that either," Ethan argued.

"Then how do you explain those blood results?"

"They came back as negative to all registered people. Those tests don't even cross check for dead people, and Shadowrule may have been dead for centuries," he defended.

"Except they're not dead. And even if they were, they both speak too modern of a dialect to have been for very long. Shadow even displays the same smooth confidence as Kira. The same goes for the awkward way Phantom does things."

"They were travelling together, maybe they each picked it up."

"Except Kira denied spending any time with Shadow. It seemed as though she was completely forgetting her story, which is why I smell a cover-up."

"Well I'm telling you there is no way my best friend is Batman. He would have told me," Ethan denied.

"I hate to say this Ethan, but you're a cop; an officer of the law. We were tasked with stopping the Batman at one point. I know you and Bruce are friends, but I also know Bruce _and _the Batman are smart people. As much as he trusts you, telling you a secret like that could be dangerous for him. He would weigh the risks. The only reason I can think that he even chose to trust the Phantoms is that they must have somehow already known."

"As much as you keep trying to convince me, I'm not believing it. See you Yin," he finished before walking out of the room.

"Bennett! Oh, he's never going to believe me," she muttered to herself. "Kira Blake _has to be_ Shadowrule, James _is _Danny Phantom, Bruce must be Batman, and that makes Dick Robin. How can he not see it? All I need is a piece of solid proof: Kira's blood. Then I'll know, even just by seeing it."

_Not that there's really anything to do with said information, _she thought. _I just have to know and make this finally seem like case closed._


	37. Chapter 34

_It was warm. That's all I cared to notice. It was warm and I was happy. Mom and Dad were there, and Meg, Ben, Jack, Maddie, Jazz, Dick and Bruce... Everyone that I cared about in one convenient place: the edge of the world. On that cliff, we could see everything; Amity, Gotham, home. Everyone was happy, no fighting, no buried resentment, just mutual friends and family meeting on good terms._

_"It feels like a dream," I said with a smile, curling up against my mom's side._

_"That's because it is one," Meg said as a flash of lightning cracked overhead, followed by the continuous thumping of a heart._

_"Meg, why does it always have to be you that spoils my moments of happiness?" I said with a sigh._

_"Because you always told me you didn't want to be happy if it wasn't real. Do you still believe in that?" she asked, sitting down cross legged in front of me as the sky grew darker._

_"I don't know, I guess."_

_"Then you won't mind waiting until this all becomes a reality. It won't be that long; over before you know it. Then you can sit in the sun with me and all of them."_

_"You always were smarter than you looked," I joked. "Well, I guess since this is a dream, it's me who's smarter."_

_"Don't you go thinkin' that on me. We both know I'm the brains of this operation, even if right now I'm just you in disguise," she said._

_"I hate you."_

_"I love you."_

_"Not much difference, is there?"_

"Do you know you talk in your sleep?"

Reintroduced to cold reality, my eyes flickered open to see Barry looking down at me. "I've been told. What was I saying?"

"Something about a fun spoiler, and that you hated someone," he said, gently pushing me off so he could stand up.

"Don't worry, it was a good hate," I said groggily, sitting up and leaning forward.

"A friend?"

"You can say that," I said with a grin.

"How hot is he?" he asked, walking towards the secret elevator.

"She. She is very, very hot," I corrected, standing up.

"Blonde?" he asked as the doors slid open.

"Brunette," I answered, walking towards the other end of the room.

"Nice," he said, going in the elevator as the doors shut.

I let out a light laugh as he disappeared. Barry Allen was growing on me. "Hey Alfred, any pleasant news this morning?" I called as I went into the main entrance area. _A foyer. Alfred said it was a foyer._

"If you're looking for something to smile about, then there is one thing, though it wasn't much fun for Master Dick," he said, coming out from a corner holding a duster.

"Ghostly mishap?" I guessed.

"He ended up falling through his bed and into the kitchen sink, where I was washing dishes," he said with a light smile.

I tried to cover my laugh with a cough, but it wasn't working. "Not as bad as last Christmas. I was sleeping quite comfortably in my room when I started phasing through the floor, into the kitchen, and down into the Fenton's lab, where they just so happened to have implemented so many nasty anti-ghost defence systems I had to hide in the Ghost Zone for four hours before Danny woke up and I could get him to go shut the stupid thing off."

"Suddenly, dishwater doesn't seem so bad anymore," Dick said, trotting down the stairs.

"Yeah, if you're going to have those powers for much longer, I would suggest avoiding DALV Industries, Poison Ivy, and any ghost ever if you don't like getting pounded," I said, running to the kitchen and back in a flash of light, now holding half a dozen apples in my arms.

"Really?" Dick complained.

"What? I have the Flash's powers and I'm hungry. The logical course of action is to super-speed to the kitchen and get food," I said, tossing an apple in the air and catching it before taking a bite.

"Wonderful for you," Danny muttered, slinking down the stairs.

"Hey, I told you we'd get this all sorted out in a few days. Cheer up. You always said you hated being a freak," I said.

"I know, but-"

"You'll adjust, and then you'll have to readjust to spontaneously freezing your nose," I said with a laugh.

"Yeah, great," he said. "Alfred, can I help you make breakfast?"

"Of course. Have you done much cooking before?" Alfred asked as they walked towards the kitchen.

"Better than his mom's irradiated hotdogs," I muttered as I continued to feast on apples.

"I heard that! And quit shovelling apples. You're going to make yourself sick," Danny argued as they left the room.

"Sorry, I'm trying to be a shinigami!" I called after him.

"What's a shinigami?" Dick asked.

"You would have to be a nerd to understand," I said, waving him off. "I'm gonna go see how Barry's doing."

"Alright, I'll call you guys up when Alfred and Danny are done with breakfast."

"Thanks Dick," I said with a nod before zipping off to the elevator.

After the quick ride down, I found Barry messing with the computer, looking frustrated. "Hey Allen, how's the blood testing going?" I asked.

"Ugh, it would be going faster if I could get this stupid computer to work!" he shouted, slamming down his fist.

"Hey, cool it. Bruce will kill us if you hurt his baby," I said. "What seems to be the problem?"

After sighing, he said, "Bats has all of your past medical information on lockdown."

"That's weird," I remarked, going over to take a look. "Have you tried his parents' names? That's what he usually uses."

"Let me try," he said, quickly typing in one, hitting enter, and then repeating it for the other. "No, that's not it."

"How about Thomas 6-2-6?" I suggested.

He entered that one and it seemed to work. "What are the numbers for?"

"6-26, as in June 26th, the night his parents… you know," I said, sitting down on the chair and swiveling around.

"Poor Bats," he muttered, checking through some files on my blood results pre-Trickster wreckage. "Poor you. Do you know how many chemical compounds you have in your blood that_ should_ be killing you?"

"I did kind of get blasted into a vat of unidentified anti-psychotics that burned out my skin pigmentation, so yeah, I have an idea," I said.

"Why is it your ghost powers got transferred but not your… um…"

"Clownification?" I supplied. "Maybe it's because ghost powers and the speed force are energy based, unlike that, which is chemically based."

"Do your ghost powers affect your DNA sequencing?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think so. It's like an ectoplasmic coating on DNA and cells, that's why me and Danny's blood is only partially green most of the time," I explained.

"And it still looks partially green now," he remarked.

"It looks the same?"

"Yeah, in nearly the exact ratio of colour to. So-"

"So maybe the energy got transferred but not the cellular changes!" I exclaimed, giving him a high-five. "Science is made so much easier when all the deformities of your blood are visible."

"I'm still going to have to run some tests on it. I just want to know how our cells are sustaining foreign energies without the base genetic coding," he mused, put a small sample into an analyzer for testing and observation.

"I would say maybe because they're adapting from an old form of energy to a new one, but that doesn't explain Dick," I said, thinking it over.

"Whatever it is, we should have some answers by tonight," he assured.

"Well, if the nerd squad is done for now, breakfast is ready," Dick called from far overhead. I looked up just in time to see his head going back through the ceiling.

"I think he kinda likes doing that," I commented.

"And he does it well," Barry remarked as we headed back to the elevator.

"Well, I did try to teach him once," I muttered, watching my shoes as we stepped in.

"How did you do that?" he asked with confusion.

"Partial overshadowing," I explained. "I had a duplicate take over his body. Well, more like he took over its. Anyway, turns out it was a lot more dangerous than I thought. That's what made Light."

"The ghost version of Reverse Flash?"

"Yeah, a deadly bitch if ever I knew one," I muttered as we went through the living area and towards the dining room.

"Watch your language Miss Blake; you're talking to us, not criminals," Alfred reprimanded as we went to sit down.

"Sorry Alfred," I murmered.

"Dang," Barry whispered as Alfred went back to the kitchen to get something, "he's really on you."

"He used my last name. For Alfred, that's like when Momma uses my middle name, " I said. "Doesn't help Bruce lets me do what. Drives Alfred nuts."

"Somehow, I just can't see that out of Bruce," he said.

"Probably realized that telling me what to do doesn't help. But Alfred's scary when he's mad."

"Scarier than the Batman?" he laughed.

"Trust me, Al's got years of experience intimidating the man that would be bat."

"She's right, you know," Alfred remarked as he came into the room with a platter of pancakes. "I expect you to share Kira."

"Yes sir," I said, giving him a mock salute before sitting down.

"So, you two find anything?" Danny asked hopefully.

"It's looking promising, but there won't be any definite results until tonight," Barry assured as he started grabbing food.

"How promising?" he continued.

"Believe me Danny, they were talking some serious geek down there," Dick warned.

"No, I want to know," Danny insisted. "My parents are scientists. I think I can handle it."

"Let me do the talking Barry. I think I can make it easier to understand," I said, waiting for him to give me a nod. When he did, I proceeded. "Basically, you and I's cells are still ghost, Dick's are human, and Barry's are predisposed to the speed force, his energy. We think for some reason the energies got switched around by that blaster. We're having the computer analyze our blood samples to try to figure out how our bodies are sustaining the energy, but that's all we know for now."

"So it's like draining a battery's energy into another battery?" he asked.

"Well, if one battery was made in Taiwan and the other in Mexico completely independent of one another," Barry answered.

"So, kind of but nothing like it," I supplied.

"O-kay?" Danny drawled before taking his first bite of food.

"Man, Bruce picked a really bad weekend to be busy," Dick sighed.

"Well, he made true on his worries. Batman's been gone one night and we're already falling apart," Danny complained.

"Well, we've still got time to fix this before he comes back. Let's just make the most of it," Barry said, voicing the only positive he could think of.

"At least now we know, even if Gotham stops needing the Batman," I started.

"We always will," Dick finished with a smile.


	38. Chapter 35

We were just sitting down to lunch when the batwave started going off. I sighed and we all went down to the cave in our respective ways.

"Trickster's robbing the bank," I announced, looking at the bar computer.

"Hate to ruin the moment, but how are we supposed to stop him?" Danny asked hopelessly.

"We just have to do our best," I said. "You may not be the best at it Danny, but we have been duel trained to fight using hand on hand and bat-tech. Grab a stocked belt and go. Flash, I'd recommend the same thing, even if you don't really know how to do it. Ghost powers naturally kick in when your survival is threatened. Robin, do whatever you want, you can handle it."

"What about you?" he asked as he put on his traffic light of a suit.

"I guess I'll just try going vanilla," I said, jumping on the slide pole and going down to the vehicles. "Who's driving what?"

"I'm guessing Batsy's car is off limits?" Flash asked.

"Unless you can drive a jet," I said.

"Yeah, I can do a bike," he said, laughing awkwardly.

"Alright then, Flash, I'll ride with you. Rob, as much as I know you want to fly, I need you to drive Danny. Let's head out," I said.

"Why can't you run?" Robin asked as we got set.

"I'm not used to it. I might overshoot or slam into a building," I explained as they started the engines.

"It's true, I did it multiple times when I first got my powers. And even though the fractures healed in about three hours, it still sucked," Flash said as we sped off.

"Three hours? Light broke my arm and it took a week! Where were you and Trickster's toys then?" I complained.

"It's part of the job," he said with a laugh as the secret exit opened in front of us.

"You count this as a job? I was hoping it could count as an extracurricular on my college app," I joked.

"U of I might question you on that one," Danny said with a laugh.

"What about Jazz? You think Stanford would accept ghost hunting as a leadership skill?"

"Or Tucker's hacking Technus at MIT?"

"You'd think Poison Ivy could get into any agricultural school she wanted," Robin added.

"You don't even need school, you could go off and win the Olympics," I teased.

"And maybe Danny could become an escape artist," Flash joined in.

"Betcha I'd be a shoo-in for demolition," I said with a laugh.

"Superpowers and skills applied in real life. We could all get as rich as Bats," Flash said.

"Except you. You run faster than sound and you're still late to everything," I said, trying to contain my giggles.

"Alright, all jokes aside, we've only got about thirty seconds," he said, shaking his head.

"If that's the case, strategy time. Rob, you and I will head up front. Flash, Phantom, you two stay in the back and keep your distance. Used ranged attacks. Throw batarangs, rocks, anything you need to make your target. We may be at a handicap, but we have to try our hardest," I instructed.

"Who put you in charge?" Robin asked.

"Common sense, and I started talking first."

"Can't argue that logic," Flash agreed, speeding up the bike as the bank came into view. "How do you ever make it to crime scenes when you have to go so slow?"

"Simple, we're not up against Zoom," I said.

In a few seconds, Flash was slowing to a stop, with Robin right behind us. I jumped off as Flash put down the kickstand. "Is everyone ready?" Robin asked.

"Let me prep an arrow," I said, pressing the blunt button on my shoulder strap. After a small whirring noise, I grabbed out the arrow and my bow. "I'm ready. Rob, you make an entrance, I'll walk in the front door."

"Why?" Flash asked.

"Speedy boy, part of being a Bat is having a nact for dramatics," I said. "I'm reckless and stupid. I go in the front door."

With that and an obnoxious grin, I started heading for the door and Robin floated up onto the roof. After a quick radio signal that I was heading in, I kicked open the doors and did just that. "Knock knock!" I shouted, lifting my bow and aiming it straight at the back of Trickster's head, who was leaning into the vault.

"Well, if it isn't the fiery archer. Didn't I kill you?" he said, turning around.

"Mm, you know, I've heard that a lot before. I'm a bit difficult to destroy," I said, firing the arrow at his chest. It knocked him back, but one of his hired thugs caught him before he could fall.

"I assume that would be a problem with ghosts. Now let's see if I can't change that."

The thug who had helped him pulled out a Thompson machine gun and aimed it right at me. My eyes lit up before I went into a sprint to the left for cover. To my surprise, instead of running at normal speed, I went into full Barry sprint. I had to drop a leg under me and go into a slide to stop myself. Even then, I took an uncomfortable crash into a table.

"Now I see. I didn't destroy you, I made you steal Flash's power. This is great!" Trickster proclaimed as the gunman turned his aim back at me.

"Robin, now!" I ordered over the comms.

On my word, he dropped from the ceiling, landing on the gunner and knocking him to the floor. Trickster spun around in surprise and Flash and Danny burst through the door. I got up off the floor and rushed over to Trickster, making sure I didn't go into a run. While he was distracted, I strung my bow over my back and said, "Either give up now or get your ass kicked."

He turned to face my ultimatum with a laugh, and that same god forsaken smile that gave me the creeps. "Please, you don't know how to use Flash's powers any more than he would yours. How do _you_ plan to stop me?"

"I think you underestimate me, cause I was planning on doing it with my fists," I said, pulling back a fist and hitting him across the jaw.

"Ahg!" he growled, flipping up to face me. "You insolent little-"

"Bitch, I think is the proper word," I said, ducking to the side as he sent a punch my way. "Wow, is that how you greet all your new friends?"

"No, because you're not one of my friends," he shouted as I jumped back to avoid another punch.

He took a step towards me and lifted his arm. He just seemed to hold it there. I tried inspecting his face to see what he was doing, but he just seemed like he had stopped moving.

I blinked. That's all I had to do, and I was taking a fist to the face. "What the hell?" I muttered.

I shook it off and analyzed my opponent. He shifted his foot like he was going to move to the right before hitting again. Seeing him lean that way, I threw a fist that should have hit him spot on, but he seemed to delay by ridiculous amounts, and I ended up missing, losing my balance in the process. It seemed like Trickster used this, because he got me with a hit that totally ruined any chance for me to rebalance and I hit the floor. "What the hell is going on?" I questioned, rolling to avoid a kick.

"It seems like someone's not used to being so wound up," he responded, winding up another kick that made some very painful contact.

After taking only a second to recover, I rolled onto my shoulders and then back, using the momentum to get to my feet.

He went for another punch, but he seemed slow again. I rushed out of the way and towards Flash before blinking. Trickster's punch went through, but I wasn't there to take it.

"Flash, everything keeps slowing down. I don't know how to deal with this," I said with frustration and fear.

"Just figure it out on your own. I don't know how to fix your problems," he snapped as he knocked out one of Jesse's crew.

"But Flash, I-"

"Shut up!" he shouted, flames burning up from his shoulders. "Do you think this is easy for the rest of us? You're not the only one having problems!"

"I know, but right now we have to stop Trickster," I reasoned.

"Or what? He runs around wrecking your precious city? Except that it's not your city. You don't even belong here. You're just a stupid ghost!" he shouted, fire rings spreading from his waist and splitting apart. Left in a transformed state in a black version of his suit, fire flicked from his body, even coming out of his blood red eyes.

Seeing what was happening, I turned my whole body to him and said, "Hey, you need to calm down."

"Calm down? Why should I calm down?" he continued.

"Because this is why I didn't want you to know how to use my powers. B, your anger is being amplified. I know this isn't you," I said, flicking my eyes to Trickster, who was escaping as we talked. I let out a sigh of frustration and locked eyes with Barry.

"Who says it's not me? What, the little red speedster's not allowed to be anything but hyperactive and cheery?"

"Flash," I said, shaking my head, "I know what it feels like. Your vision's going red, you feel the energy and blood pumping in your ears, you feel like the most unappreciated thing on the face of the planet. I know. It's called a ghostly obsession. I think I got it because of the abandonment issues with my parents, but it's not you. The energy just takes over and makes you think it's who you are."

"No, you're just trying to make me think that. You don't know anything," he shouted desperately, shaking his head in an attempt to find his thoughts.

"Alright," I said. I took my bow off my back and put it on the ground. Then I pulled out an arrow with a sharp tip and used it to cut off my sleeve. I held my exposed arm out to him and said, "Grab it. Hold it tight and strong, but look me in the eyes and you'll see who you are."

He looked confused and hesitant, so I grabbed his hand and clapped it down on my bare skin. I had to use all my willpower to not scream and to keep eye contact as his white-hot hand sizzled my skin. As my body started to involuntarily shake, his eyes widened and his hand started cooling down.

"Oh man, what have I done?" he questioned as he pulled his hand back and gently started analyzing the fresh wound.

"It's alright," I said, wiping some tears from my eyes. "I've felt worse. Do you feel better now?"

"No, I feel terrible," he said sadly.

"That's part of the job," I said, pulling him down for a hug and looking over his shoulder. Danny and Robin were finishing off the last remaining jerk. When they were done, they both rushed over to see what had happened. "Now," I said, breaking the hug and stepping back, "let's go home."

"Are you alright Shadow?" Robin questioned, looking at my arm.

"What's wrong with you? You hurt my sister!" Danny shouted, and then seemed to register what he'd just said. "Er, Shadow."

"It's alright boys, Flash was just experiencing his first mood swing. I'm sure he'll make a wonderful mother," I joked. Everyone still seemed angry for a moment, and then Robin cracked up, followed by Flash, then me, and finally Danny. "All terrible jokes aside, we need to go back to the cave so I can bandage this. Danny, can you hand me my bow?"

"Sure," he said, picking it up and handing it to me.

"So, is that really what I look like when I'm mad?" I asked as we headed out to the bikes.

"Well… yeah," Danny said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Man, that's slightly terrifying, especially being mostly human," I said as Flash took his place as driver.

"Well, normally you're only mad at me or Vlad, so it's not too bad," he said.

"Still, I didn't like it. I'm gonna become a monk or something. "

"Good luck with that one. Can you imagine yourself with your head shaved wearing robes?" Flash joked.

"Hey, tattoo an arrow on my forehead and I'd be good to go," I said with a laugh. They all gave me odd and confused looks before I realized what I had said. "Right, you guys don't get the cartoon references of my dimension. Sorry."

"Well, let's go," Robin said, revving his engine.

Then we were off, heading home to try to solve our problems and get ready for the next fight.


	39. Chapter 36

**The last installment of Flash's visit. It's a little short, but I hope y'all enjoy it. Ta ta for now!**

It was 11:30 when an alert was sent through the batwave to notify us that the blood analysis was complete. We all went down, buzzing with anticipation. Even Alfred was tapping his foot with impatience. I sat rubbing my arm as Barry read the results silently to himself. His face seemed to light up, and then go into an intense look of thought.

"What is it Bare?" I asked as Alfred grabbed my hand to stop me from itching my arm raw.

"I have good news and bad news. Well, more like good news and half-bad news," he said.

"Alright, start with the good news," Danny said.

"Well, the good news is the foreign energies are rapidly depleting from our cells," he said.

"So no more running into walls?" I asked.

"Or through them?" Dick added.

"Yeah," he said.

"Alright, then what's the kind-of-bad news?" Danny asked.

"Well, our cells are primed to produce the correct energies, but they need something to kick them out of hibernation, a jump start, if that makes sense," he said.

"So the struggle is finding something that can jump start the Flash and a pair of ghosts," Danny said.

"Yeah, and the speed force is easy to fix. It's close enough to electricity that I can just substitute the two, but ecto-energy seems almost like antimatter if earth's energy was regular matter. They're polar opposites, and I can't think of a safe way to introduce it to human bodies," he said hopelessly.

"Yeah, and walking into a portal as it opens isn't really possible," Danny muttered.

I sat thinking for a moment. _There has to be something in this world that contains ghost energy, _I thought. _Wait a sec…_

"Dick, you remember when we were in Riddler's trap and that belt kept shocking me?" I said, the wheels finally twisting into place.

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?" he asked.

"The pain should have been pretty dull as long as I didn't get emotionally stimulated, so Riddler used a stimulus of his own. It was a jump-start," I said. "He was shooting me up with straight ectoplasm. And I told Bruce about it afterwards. He'd been stockpiling as much as he could get his hands on and synthesizing an easier way to introduce it than injection. Lucius should have whatever they'd come up with so far."

"I'll go ring him then," Alfred said, marching up to the lift and heading to the mansion.

"Barry, I think it's about time I teach you how to use a ghost power," I said, grabbing his arm and pulling him over to the training area. "Danny, you can observe if you really want to. Vlad tought me how to do it."

"Hey, as long as it's not directly from the fruitloop," he said, coming over.

"Alright, Barry, think of the feeling you get when you're running. Think your aura and the energy that crackles behind your fingertips," I said as I pulled him down with me to sit on the ground. "All there is to ghost power is channeling energy and emotions. Empty your mind and feel the energy."

He took a deep breath as he looked me in the eyes with a sombre expression. I told him he could close his eyes, but he just said he needed to see the energy through me. So I took my own advice and started focusing my energy. I felt a little startled when electricity started crackling over my eyes.

"It's alright," he said. "Happens to me all the time." As he said that, energy started crackling from the palms of his hands. "Woah, is that a normal thing for ghosts?"

"Well, it's easier when you have a fire or lightning core, but yeah, with work, any of us can do it," I said. "I figured it would be easier for you. Plus, the moment it leaves your hands and reacts with the air, it becomes Earth based energy. Just hold it up to your chest and focus more and more energy. That might jump start you and not drain the city's power supply."

"Good idea," he said.

"But the thing is, it's gonna hurt, so just stay focused on keeping the power up. I'll stop you if it starts to seem dangerous."

"Okay," he said. "On the count of three?"

"Sure. Three… two… one… go!"

His hand touched down and a scream ripped the air. He started to pull back, and as much as I hated it, I pinned his hand down, muttering sorry the entire time.

* * *

"No more heroes… standing in my way. No more heroes, not today," Trickster sang as he spun around, stealing random gems out of smashed cases in a jewelry store.

"I think you're a bit mistaken," a voice sounded from behind him, as quick and powerful as ever.

"Flash, you should have learned last time that you and your little friends can't stop me without your powers," Trickster said, turning around with a cocky grin that soon vanished at the sight of a glowing Phantom and a bouncing Flash.

"You know, we thought the same thing," Danny said as I chugged the last bit of carbonated ecto-soda from a can before crushing it and throwing it to the ground. Bruce had good ideas.

"Except it turns out that with a little bat-tech and Flash's brain, we don't have to deal with that anymore," I finished, floating up in the air as flames licked at my fingertips.

"Oh crud," Trickster muttered, taking a step back. "Boys, stop them!"

Four guys in colourful outfits charged at us. I went for a pair, Danny went for another, and Robin went for the last one as Flash speeded after Jesse, slamming a fist into his face.

Robin smashed down his opponent and said, "Just like old times."

* * *

"Did you really have to burn off his hair?" Flash asked as they carted Trickster away.

"Believe me, it wasn't his colour anyway," I responded, smirking as I twirled a flame around my pale fingers.

"Good job Flash. You're welcome in our city any time," Commissioner Gordon said as he came over to shake Barry's hand.

"Well, I was just doing my-"

"Flash," I snapped, giving him a threatening glare.

"I mean, I couldn't have done it without these three," he corrected. "You've really picked up the scary glare."

"Thanks, I learned from the best," I said with a smile as some bats squeaked in the distance.

"Where is Batman?" Gordon asked, giving us three kids a curious look.

"There comes a time when a hero can't be there to help," I said vaguely.

"And when that moment comes, it's the job of others to take up the role," Robin said, picking up a wind.

"Lucky for him, he has us," Danny said with a grin.

"Alright," Jim said with a nod, "I can't argue with that. Now I hate to seem like a nagging old dad, but it's three o'clock in the morning and I'm guessing at least one of you has school in the morning."

"Crap," I said after pulling up a clock on my batwave and showing it to the boys. The screen said 03:14:59.

Robin's white slits and Danny's green eyes widened comically before Danny flew up and away, Robin jumped onto his motorcycle, and I sunk into the ground.

"I guess that fixes that," Gordon remarked.

"I better go too. See you 'round commish!" Flash said before zipping off.

"So Batman isn't the only one with a vanishing act," Gordon remarked as he walked back to his car and rode off.


	40. Chapter 37

Sleeping was _so nice. _Of course, it would have nicer if it weren't the middle of Crane's class.

"Miss Blake, would you mind staying conscious? You're about to drool on one of my desks."

"Sorry Dr. Crane, I was up all night fighting-" I started when I realized what I was saying, "a bad stomach ache." _Smooth Blake, real smooth._

"I'm sorry to say that since that was obviously a lie, you'll be having detention with me tonight," he said.

"Ah man," I groaned, looking to Kris, who held a sympathetic face.

"Sorry," she mouthed as Crane continued teaching.

"While they couldn't study the long term effects these conditioned stimuli had on Little Albert due to his unfortunate passing at such a young age…"

God Crane was a creep. Interesting, but a creep.

* * *

The last bell rang and I headed to my locker to grab a few things, as well as to text Alfred that I had detention and would fly home myself. Kris met me there and wished me final condolences.

"You poor thing. If you don't make it can I steal the contents of your closet?"

"Very funny Kris, but it's just detention, and only an hour at that," I said waving off her "worry".

"Hey, for all we know he might have you try to clean out his poison closet. And then, when you find the bodies of the students he's killed, you'll be next," she joked.

"Yeah, somehow I feel like getting murdered by my teacher is the least of my problems. Alfred's going to kill me," I said.

"What'd you do?" Dick asked as he and Danny came down the hall.

"Fell asleep in Crane's class," I said.

"Eh, I've gotten detention for that and the only person Alfred chewed out was Bruce. Don't worry, Jimmy was falling asleep during lunch and fell into his plate," he said.

"I don't think I ever want to eat mashed potatoes again," Danny said miserably.

"As hilarious as that is and as much as I totally want to bask in Jimmy's misery, I'm a bad kid and need to get to detention, so see you two in an hour and you tomorrow," I said, throwing my backpack over my shoulder before walking down the hall.

I rounded a corner and about halfway down, I felt like someone was following me. Going on my gut, I turned around and asked, "Is someone there?"

There was no reply, but I still felt suspicious. I took a deep breath and focused on my ghost sense. The only traces in the entire building were me and Danny, but he was far away and leaving. I focused on the sense of his snow-chilled energy to help me keep my nerve. _Walking right into a room to be alone with a supervillain. Except, he isn't a supervillain yet._

I was going past an alcove of doors, and I didn't even notice he was there until he spoke. "Taking your time, aren't you?"

I gasped through my nose and grabbed my chest. "You startled me sir."

"Well, you seemed high strung anyway. Is something worrying you?" Dr. Crane asked, coming out to walk next to me towards his classroom.

"No, no, it's nothing. I just had this feeling like someone was following me," I said, trying to laugh it off.

"All I can say is listen to your fears Kira. Not only do they define you, but they protect you," he said as we walked into his room.

"So, what were you doing in Mr. Mast's room?" I asked as I went over towards a desk.

"Actually Miss Blake, you'll be serving your detention with me in my private office," he said, waving me over to a door in the back. "Mr. Mast and I were discussing psychology demonstrated in classic literature, not that it's that much of your concern."

"So he's alright then? Going to be at school tomorrow?" I fished.

"Of course, why wouldn't he be?" Crane asked with a tight smile, once again gesturing for me to enter the room.

My eyes narrowed slightly, but I obeyed his commands. "No reason, just a gut feeling," I said as I sat down on a chair in front of the desk in the small room.

"Why do you dislike me so much Kira?" he questioned as he sat down.

"What are you talking about Dr. Crane?"

"Your disdain for me is obvious Miss Blake," he said. "Why?"

"You said I should trust my fears."

"Are you afraid of me?"

"No, I'm afraid of what you'll become," I said, my voice shaking slightly.

"And how do you know what that is?"

"Psychology. There's something wrong with you. Something that doesn't follow social norms. I don't really know the difference between socio and psychopath, but you fit into one of them."

"That's quite a thing to tell your teacher," he said, forcing a laugh.

"Well, obviously you asked me back here because you wanted to talk. Why don't you go ahead and talk?" I said, crossing my arms.

"I'm not sure whether you're trying to protect yourself or take control here, but neither will work. You hate me, but you're one of my best students. I can't help thinking that maybe you hate me because you are intelligent."

"Why? You hiding something?" I pressed.

"Actually, I was thinking that you are," he said, plastering on a smile. "What is it that Kira Blake is hiding? Maybe it's that you're smart and you shouldn't be; that you've been lying to everyone."

"What? Don't believe in miracles?"

"No, I believe that you didn't grow up on the streets. Your mannerisms suggest you grew up with parents, but you're in the middle of a crisis. You were taken away from home, you know not why, but there were problems that led up to it, hence the bitterness," he said.

"How do you figure that?"

"The fact that you're crying," he pointed out. I gasped in surprise and reached a hand up to my face. When I pulled it off, it was wet. I didn't even notice. "You were probably the top of your class, that being why you make a show of not doing your homework, every time with that same cocky smirk."

"So you're trying to say that somehow I had a family, fell completely off grid, and just so happen to be a genius?"

"That being said, somehow you know I'm hiding something. I doubt asking you to tell me would help anything, so I'll drop the subject and move onto something else. You said you're afraid of clowns, and you are, but what are you really the _most _afraid of. I need to know."

"Teach, you're being a creep," I remarked.

"What is it?" he pressed.

"Do you honestly want to know? Do you really, really want to know?" I questioned, leaning in towards him. "It's something horrifying, something everyone stares in the face every day and doesn't realize."

"Tell me," he insisted.

I smirked a moment before whispering, "Myself," and sitting back down.

"Do you know what the sad thing is?" I tilted my head slightly in a gesture for an answer. "I believe you, and that proves something to me."

"What?"

"There's something I want to show you," he said, standing up and walking over to a filing cabinet. Without much else to do, I carefully got up and followed him, minding every step. I couldn't tell if this moment was good or bad. I wasn't sure how much I was screwing up by even talking to him, but I was doing it.

He slowly drew out one of the drawers, and it took my breath away. Inside was probably a hundred test tubes filled with liquid fear gas. All of them were the same orange-red as my blood, and all of them were dangerous.

"If you want to be a part of something more, breathe in the vapours of one of these tubes," he said, looking at them with envy.

I split a look between him and the gas, and bolted for the exit.

"Kira, wait!" he shouted as I passed the threshold of his classroom, but I didn't stop running.

I didn't stop running until I found myself six blocks away and short on breath, panting for air. "Clockwork!" I shouted between breaths. "Clockwork, I need help before I screw everything up!"

"Calm down Kira, I'm here. The medallion acts as a beacon. When you really need me, I will be there," his voice said before he appeared in the spin of a clock hand. "Time is out, do not worry about that."

"Thanks. I was in detention and… and…"

"Catch your breath, you have all the time in the world," he said. "You were in Dr. Crane's office, he offered for you to be part of his evil plot. Obviously you cannot take it."

"It's just… I need help, but I'm afraid that if I tell Bruce-"

"You will mess up the timeline and therefore endanger his future," he said.

"What do I do?" I asked, slumping to the ground and wrapping my arms around myself.

"First off," he said, floating down to rest a hand on my shoulder, "you need to calm your fears."

"I'm sorry," I said, wiping away some tears that had started to fall again.

"Do not be sorry," he said. "You are human, and it is only human to react in such a way. Now secondly, I have watched every way the time stream may shift, you alerting your guardian of this danger will not affect time enough to be of concern."

"Thank god," I breathed, choking a laugh.

"Thirdly, I will warn you that you need to get home quickly. That Scarecrow will have gone searching for you," he said, pulling me to my feet.

"Thank you Clockwork," I said, flying up to give him a hug. He neither hugged back nor pulled away, so I counted it as acceptance.

"That did surprise me-"

"The first time, I know you all seeing jerk," I said, breaking the hug with a smile, wiping away more tears on my uniform sleeve before changing forms.

"I will give you a ten second head-start before resuming time," he said with a nod.

"Thank you," I said again before bursting through the sky in a trail of fire. After exactly ten seconds, I heard the words "time in" shake the world. Just before leaving Gotham, I went invisible so nobody could follow me.

In record time, I phased through the walls into the living room of the manor. I touch down, gasping for breath as I stared a startled Alfred in the face. "Get Bruce," I ordered before collapsing onto a chair and shifting forms.

"Master Bruce!" he shouted, dropping his duster and running to the next room.

"Alfred! What's wrong?" he questioned as he came running into the room. "Kira!"

"Bruce," I said, trying to control my breathing as he came to my side, "I'm in trouble. I'm in so much trouble. I wanted to tell you before but I was too scared."

"What is it?" he asked, taking my hand.

"My school teacher; I recognized his name the first time I met him, but I didn't know if I was allowed to tell you, but now I do. Jonathan Crane. He's a bad guy. I had detention with him and he… he…"

"Take your time," he said, brushing some hair out of my face.

"He tried to recruit me. He's got these test tubes filled with this gas that causes hallucinations. They make you see your worst fear."

"That actually makes sense," he said, pulling up a seat across from me.

"What?"

"There have been reports of people going into complete mental break downs and then just coming out of it a few days later. They all say something about a scarecrow and all they remember when they come out of it is being afraid. Did he get you?"

"No, he told me if I breathed it in I could be part of something more. That's when I bolted. Ran six blocks before I went ghost. I think he might have used it on my English teacher. I'm not sure why," I said.

"Alright, we'll go to the school at sunset," he said.

"Bruce, there's something else," I said, taking one last deep breath.

"What?"

"Crane's a master psychologist, a doctor even. He's as dangerous as Dr. Strange but without the resources. He knows more about Kira Blake than the rest of the public."

"Like what?"

"He knows I wasn't raised on the streets, even that I haven't been away from home very long. If he shares that with anyone-"

"It could be a scandal," Bruce finished with a sigh. "So we can't make it look like you have any involvement."

"Yeah, but he's going to figure it out one way or another," I said. "Please, Mr. Mast may be a jerk, but he needs our help."

"I know," he said, giving me a hug, "he'll get help and we'll keep you safe. If Mr. Mast has been hurt, we'll get the police and inform the principal. Otherwise we'll have to face Crane on his own terms."

"Bruce, he's terrifying without the gas. I don't want that to happen to you," I said, shaking a bit.

"It's alright. I've faced my fears before, I can do it again."


	41. Chapter 38

Sure enough, at sundown we headed to the school. Danny and Dick were wearing special all-black stealth suits, and we traveled in the Batmobile with the lights off. If there wasn't a problem with Mr. Mast, we didn't want to get spotted.

"This way," Robin said, taking the lead. "I know a way to his room through the vents."

"Why would you know that?" Danny questioned.

"We're facing a man that uses gas on his victims. Using something that circulates air as our passage isn't the best plan," Bats said.

"We head on foot then. This way," I said, taking the lead. "I'll go in first. I don't think I even have to breathe in ghost form, and if I do, my other mutation should nullify the effects."

"You don't have to do that," Bats said.

"No, it's alright. I ain't scared," I said, peering around a corner before heading around. "Mast's class is just up ahead."

Bats and Robin went into muffled sprints and Danny and I took the air. It didn't take long before we were standing in front of Mast's door. I nodded for the boys to stay back as I shifted forms. Taking a deep breath, I phased through the door and turned on the lights. When I saw Mast shaking on the floor, holding himself, I gasped.

The air burned my throat, causing me to cough, but I didn't have any negative reaction, so I assumed I was immune. I ran over and grabbed Mast before phasing back into the hallway.

I set him down before going into a coughing fit in front of my worried partners.

"Shadow, are you-"

"There was a comic book a long time ago where the Joker went up against Scarecrow. After getting sprayed, he said something about make it stronger next time and hit him over the head with a folding chairs," I said, choking a laugh and straightening up. "We have to raid Crane's office."

"Robin, stay here with him and call the police. I want you to watch his back Phantom. We can't have Crane sneaking up on us," Batman ordered. "Shadow, you're with me."

"Alright. Robin, if the cops get here before we come back, tell them that room needs ventilated. Crane blocked off the access points and the gas is just stewing," I warned before shifting forms again and running after Bats.

"This way," I told him as I passed him and rounded the next corner. Sliding to a stop in front of his door, I peaked inside through its window. It seemed empty, so I grabbed the knob and twisted. It was locked. After signaling to Bats, I phased inside and opened the door for him. "That's his office over there," I whispered.

He nodded and we both walked towards it. The window was veiled with a curtain on the inside, so there was no visible way to look in. I gave Bats a look before pulling out my bow and turning on the infrared in the advanced targeting system. I lifted it up to my eye and peered into the room, but it seemed entirely empty. "All clear. I'll go in and see if it's been gassed."

"Be careful," he said, giving me the go ahead.

I nodded and phased inside, only to be met by a very dangerous threat. "Gas bomb, clear the building," I ordered, looking at the homemade device as it counted down from thirty.

"What?" Danny questioned over the comms.

"Run! There's only thirty seconds!" I shouted, phasing out of the room before grabbing Bruce and flying down the hall, kicking a fire alarm as I went so any janitors or teachers that may have lingered would clear out. Then I curved up and we flew out of the roof and across the street. Danny and Dick came with Mr. Mast only moments before clouds of gas started billowing out of the school's windows.

Sirens sounded in the distance, coming closer and closer until they were right in front of us. Bats went up and warned them about the gas so they wouldn't go inside, and Danny and I dropped to the pavement, taking in air to push away the excitement.

"I get Crane wanted to hide his secret, but gassing the whole school?" Robin said, staring on as an ambulance crew took away our English teacher.

"He was probably trying to get whoever was searching him too, maybe in hopes we'd forget after the temporary insanity had passed," I suggested.

"In more important news, does this mean no school tomorrow?" Danny asked.

"Yes!" Robin cheered, realizing the same thing. "Score one for bad guys!"

"You two are idiots, aren't you?" I said, much to their surprise. "That's a huge building. They can air it out in no time. Crane and Mast's rooms might be off-limits, but that's about it."

"Aw man," they groaned in unison.

"Sorry to disappoint. You two are alright, right? You were cutting it a little close," I said.

"Yeah, we're fine. We got out with a full two seconds left," Danny said.

"How do you know that?"

"Robin was counting. Filling me with _tons _of confidence, by the way," he said, narrowing his eye at Dick.

He laughed sheepishly and said, "I just wanted to be sure you knew."

"You two are certifiable idiots," I groaned, shaking my head. "Let's go back to the Batmobile while B talks to the cops."

"Good idea," Danny agreed, getting up off the ground. "I've had enough crazy tonight."

"Yeah, so sick of shenanigans," I agreed.

"The only crazy I'm happy to see is you guys," Robin added.

"Excuse me?" I questioned, giving him a dumbfounded expression before we all started laughing and I started chasing him to the alley where Bruce parked.

"Ha, you can't get me, I'm the king of running!" Dick proclaimed, bounding into the dark.

"Yeah, thanks ya cheater, now I can't even see you to tackle you," I said with a laugh as I looked around.

"Hey, who the heck- Help!"

"Robin!" Danny and I shouted together. Danny gave me a look and I lit up in flames, pushing away the darkness. After a moment's search, we spotting Robin sitting in a fire escape, rocking himself.

I shared a look of fear with Danny and he started calling Bruce over the comms, going so far as to activate the emergency beacon on the batwave. I flew up to Robin, extinguishing some of my flames so I couldn't hurt him.

"Hey Bird, quit shaking," I said in a soothing voice, hugging my arms around him.

"Mom, Dad, I couldn't… I couldn't," he muttered.

"Sh, sh, it's alright little bird, it's alright," I said, picking him up and floating down to the ground.

Just as I touched down, Bruce came around the corner in a dead sprint, followed by Commissioner Gordon. "What happened?" Bats questioned.

"We were just screwing around, having a bit of a chase," I said.

"Robin disappeared and we heard him shouting," Danny continued.

"I found him up in the fire escape," I added, my voice shaking. "What do we do?"

"The only thing we can for now," Bruce said despairingly, kneeling on the ground next to where I put Robin.

"Mom, Dad," he kept whimpering.

"It's okay Robin," he said as he reached into his belt. He pulled out some kind of spray canister. I wasn't sure what.

"What is that?" Danny asked, voicing my concern.

"It's knock-out gas. It's better to dream a nightmare than live it," he explained, spraying it in Robin's face. After a second, he went limp and tipped into Bruce's arms.

"Christ," I muttered. "Poor Robin."

"No more leaving each other's sight, is that understood? Even if it means no invisibility until this blows over," Bats ordered, scooping up Robin and placing him in the car.

"Yes sir," I said as Danny nodded with a mortified expression.

"I'm sorry that you have to go through this," Gordon said. "If there's anything I can do-"

"Keep the police away from this. This is too dangerous for your men, maybe even mine," Bats said, shooting us a look.

"Maybe even for you," I said, crossing my arms before heading for the Batmobile. I sat with Robin, Danny took the passenger seat. We were both too shaken to speak, so we just sat in an uncomfortable silence, listening as Robin's breath and his alone filled the silence. I burned away any tears that threatened to fall at Dick's murmers, even in his sleep muttering to his parents that he was sorry. Danny and I were terrified, thinking of what things might show themselves if we got doused.

"Let's go," Bruce said, jumping into the driver's seat and starting the back thruster.


	42. Chapter 39

"Mom, I'm so sorry," Dick muttered. He had regained consciousness just hours before school was going to start. Danny and I hadn't been able to sleep comfortably in our rooms all night, so we just snuck down to the Batcave to stay with him. Danny ended up falling asleep at his side, but I couldn't get Dick's haunted stare out of my mind.

After looking at the time, I nudged Danny awake. "Hey, come on bro," I said.

"What, is he-" Danny started, bolting upright.

"He's still out of it," I said. "School starts soon. We need to go get ready."

"Oh, alright," he sighed, standing up. "School doesn't really sound the greatest."

"I know," I said, brushing my hair from my eyes. "Believe me, I'm not looking forward to going into the open where Crane can jump me at any time."

"They've probably suspended him from work by now," he said, rubbing his neck.

"I know, but that doesn't stop him from catching me at any moment that I just so happen to be alone," I said.

Danny took my shaking hand and said, "Is that why you were awake every time I saw you last night?"

"Yeah," I admitted, heading for the elevator.

"Well don't worry, I'll be there for every moment I can be," he said, squeezing my hand once before letting go. "Just stay with a group at all times. I'm sure he won't hurt you if you're surrounded by your friends."

"Thanks Danny," I said, giving him a hug as we got on the elevator.

"Why didn't we just fly up to our rooms?" he asked.

"I'm not really in the mood for flying," I said, stifling a yawn.

"Are you sure you're up for going to school today?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, giving him a nod before lumbering up to one of the bathrooms. "Fine as I can be."

* * *

"Kira, are you doing alright? You look like you haven't slept in days," Abby said, fussing over me like all my other friends.

"It's alright," I assured. "I just heard that a friend was sick last night, that's all."

"You poor thing," Sadie gasped, rushing around to sit next to me.

"It's seriously alright guys. Your worrying's cramping my style," I said, raising my hands to her defensively.

"What style? The one where you act like you have some and hope it comes true?" Danny joked, earning a punch from me.

"It's where I live a long happy life knowing I don't have a toolbag name like James," I shot back.

"Hey, I didn't pick it!" he defended.

I snorted as Amber asked, "Why are you sitting with us anyway?"

"Amber!" Sadie snapped. "Kira is emotionally traumatised. She needs someone familiar for care and support."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Kris remarked, rolling her eyes. "Kira's not the type for emotional support. She's more a person of action."

"And yet somehow I find that Kira doesn't fall into the same category as you put Batman," Abby deadpanned, causing Danny to nearly spit out his milk.

I shot him a stiff glare, and while everyone was still staring at him, I said, "Jimmy's a bit of a Batman fangirl, sorry."

"Fangirl?" he cried indignantly.

"Hey, Jimmy is a very masculine fan-man," Kris joked, earning the giggles of every girl at the table.

"And this is why I hang out with guys," he muttered, pounding his head against the table.

"What about Sam?" I whispered, giving him a mischievous grin.

"She's different, she's-"

"Hot and you have a mega-crush on her? I get it James."

"I do not!"

"Don't what?" Sadie asked, leaning closer for gossip.

"He likes a girl we used to run around with and he won't admit it," I said nonchalantly.

"I do not, she's just a good friend," he defended.

"You keep telling yourself that," I said as the bell rang.

We got up and an announcement said psychology would be study hall until further notice. Luckily, Danny always had study hall sixth period, so he went with me, Kris, and Amber.

We all headed down together, the girls teasing Danny and asking him about Sam. I couldn't help but laugh as his face grew more and more red. He only found relief after we were actually in the study hall and the monitor was snapping at us to be quiet.

* * *

Math class and science passed by pretty quickly, then we had an assembly as a reminder to the proper procedures in case of a gas attack (only in Gotham). Who knew they actually kept gas masks hidden in cupboards throughout the school?

That's how me, Danny, and Kris ended up outside, waiting. Danny and I were waiting on Alfred, and Kris drove herself to school everyday, so she was just hanging out with us before we had to go.

"Don't you think this is weird?" Danny asked, giving me a concerned look.

"What do you mean?" I asked, looking down the street and checking my watch.

"Alfred's never late," he said.

"We are in Gotham," Kris said. "He probably just got caught in traffic."

"If you say so," Danny remarked, rubbing the back of his neck.

Biting my lip, feeling the unease spread, I leaned out and looked both ways down the street. I heard them before I saw them. Two cop cars and two ambulances went barrelling down the street.

"That's the way Alfred comes from," I said, giving Danny a look of fear before bolting down the sidewalk.

"Kira, wait!" Kris shouted as Danny started sprinting after me. She soon shook her head and started running too.

Four blocks down, across the street, and around the corner, I saw the limousine. They were pushing him into an ambulance on a stretcher. "Alfred!" I shouted, running after him.

"Hey kid, you can't go over there," a heavy set cop ordered, stepping in front of me.

"It's alright Rojas, let her through. She's technically family," a voice said from my right.

I looked over to see Detective Bennett looking around like it was some kind of crime scene. "What happened to him Ethan?" I asked as Danny rushed up to my side and we walked through the police barrier.

"Another gas attack. They've been happening all over. Even got Robin last night," he said.

Danny and I shared a look of terror and bolted for the ambulance. I lied and said we were his grandkids. The medics told us if one of us tried to calm him down, one of us would be allowed to ride in the front, the other in the back. I thanked them profusely and Danny went to the front.

I stayed in the back and held his hand the entire way, trying to calm him down. About half way there, I noticed a piece of paper sticking out of his breast pocket. Curious, I grabbed it to see what it was. To my horror, it stated: "I know you told the Bats. Keep quiet or James is next. -Scarecrow."

I stuffed it in my pocket and sent Bruce a text. "_Al's been gassed, going to Gotham General. Meet us there. A lot to discuss."_

In mere moments, Alfred was shouting something about failing Bruce. I made sure I held onto him with both hands as one of the EMTs gave him a sedative. It was horrifying. It straight up hurt to see him like that.

_We're all in danger,_ I thought. _God, poor Al._

* * *

"How is he?" Bruce questioned, rushing into the room as he pulled off his overcoat.

"He's stable," the nurse who had been watching Danny and I said. "Are you the guardian of these two?"

"Yes," he said, putting his overcoat on the back of a chair before pushing it right up next to Alfred.

"Alright, then I'll leave you to be alone," she said, giving a consoling smile before rushing out of the room.

"I'm sorry Alfred," he said, lifting up the older man's limp hand before pressing his forehead against it.

"Bruce, I think you should know… I found this in his pocket," I said, standing up and handing him the note.

After a moment, he lifted his head and put Alfred's hand down before grabbing the note. "So he's targeting people around you?"

I nodded. "I think he's trying to make sure I don't tell anyone else who he is so he can continue his work."

"He probably thought that getting Robin would scare away the Batman," he said solemnly.

"Is he right?" I asked. "I'm feeling pretty scared."

"So am I, but we can't let that stop us," he said, turning his head towards the ceiling and sighing.

"You didn't sleep last night either, did you?" I asked, looking over to the corner to see where Danny had dozed off again.

"How could I? He poisoned my son," he said, rubbing his forehead with his palms.

"So you do count as us your kids?" I asked, letting out a little forced laugh.

"Of course I do," he said tiredly.

"Do you want me to go get you a coffee?"

"Three sugars," he said, leaning into Alfred.

"Of course," I said, heading towards the hospital's visitor snack and coffee area. _He needs some serious energy if he's talking sugar. Most of the time he goes straight black._

So, I hummed a little bit of Skillet's Not Gonna Die as I went on my way. _Alfred needs us, and Bruce needs Danny and me to stay strong. I think his greatest fear is playing out before his eyes and he hasn't even been gassed._

It was true. Bruce was rattled. He never stayed up all night if it meant he wasn't in the cave working, but I was down there all night and didn't see him. Him being like that scared me more than any villain could, but I wouldn't let it show. I couldn't let it show.

"_Calm your fears. It is only human to react in such a way."_

Clockwork's words bounces around my head. I used them for comfort, but Crane's words echoed to, soiling any good feelings the time ghost brought me.

"_Listen to your fears Kira. They define you."_

_No brain, you're twisting things. He also told me to trust it. He wanted me to trust my judgment,_ I thought, pushing back his words. _In his freaky Scarecrow way._

"You look very deep in thought, Miss Blake."

I spun around on my heel and took a combat stance. The hall behind me had gone black. I backed up in fear, but I bumped into something, or rather someone. I jumped forward and spun around so fast it could put Flash to shame. I had to hold back a scream when I saw the black skinned figure in brown overalls, a dark brown shirt, and a large hat with what looked like hay sticking out of it like hair carrying a sickle and a belt filled with vials of fear gas.

"I won't tell anyone else. Please, just leave me alone. You already hurt Alfred," I pleaded, stepping back as I heard Bruce shouting and slamming into a door. _He must be locked in with Alfred, _I decided. _Danny can phase out, though._

I was stopped by something with give that made a rattling noise. I turned around to see a wall of green and grey chains before I turned back to Crane.

"You already told the Bat about me. Who else did you tell?"

"No one, I swear," I said, looking for some kind of escape. The only way was through him. "Please Dr. Crane, what do you want?"

"It's Scarecrow," he said as orange-brown vapours started filling in all around me. As I went into a coughing fit, he came up and asked, "What do you see?"

I stared him straight in the eyes with a look of fear and determination. "Only the world in front of me."

"How? Why?" he questioned, stepping closer.

"Because you're a complete idiot!" I shouted, pushing him into the wall before bolting down the corridor.

Things got brighter as I kept running. He had killed the lights all the way down that section. After hopping some badly placed stretchers and equipment, I made it into a bathroom and transformed, then I went invisible and flew off after Bruce and Danny.

When I made it to the room Alfred, Danny, and Bruce were in, I found Bruce still trying to fight the door and Danny still unconscious next to his glass of water. Then it hit. _Danny was drugged._

"Bruce, it was Scarecrow," I said, gasping in air with wide eyes. "He tried to gas me, but it didn't work, so I knocked him into a wall and ran."

"You're okay," he said, sighing in relief. "I shouldn't have let you leave on your own."

"It's alright," I said. "If you went with, he just would have gassed you too, and then me and Danny'd be screwed. Danny's water was drugged with something."

"I guessed that," he said. "Get us out of here."

"Alright," I said, using super strength to break out the lock and push the door open, "go left. There's gas and a block on the right."

"Thanks," he said before picking up Danny and running. After checking around the corner, I switched forms and bolting after them.

Scarecrow was proving to be more dangerous than my other enemies, especially since he was hunting me in both forms.


	43. Chapter 40

The three of us sat around in the Batcave wallowing in an unending feeling of despair. It felt too dangerous to stay up in the mansion, so Danny and I did target practice with batarangs while Bruce analyzed some gas he had taken from my lungs (ouch, BTW).

"It wasn't even night," I said, throwing another batarang. "Nothing ever happens in Gotham during the day."

"Apparently he didn't get that memo," Danny said, throwing a batarang that impaled itself into the dummy target. There was so much anger behind it that it made me cringe.

"Villains only attack during the daytime when they aren't afraid of anyone," Bruce remarked, looking up from his microscope. "Scarecrow's sending us a message that he's not worried about Bats."

"Should he be?" I asked, throwing another batarang that completely missed.

"Of course," he said, turning back to his studies. "We don't back down just because another one of Gotham's twisted start threatening us."

"Except he's threatening Kira Blake, James Fenton, and Bruce Wayne, not just the Batman and his companions," Danny pointed out, throwing another spot-on shot. Anger made Danny be more on point. Fear was throwing me off my game. Worry was making Bruce work.

"And I'll handle it!" he snapped before dropping his head into his hands.

"Bruce, it's alright," I said, drooping my eyes sadly.

"No, nothing is okay. Alfred and Dick are sick, and I don't know how to help them, let alone stop their poisoner," he said with frustration.

"I hate to be the one to step up and say this, but I've faced worse than this before. Kira told be Bane broke nearly every bone in your body once. Did you let yourself get frustrated and angry then?" Danny questioned, turning on Bruce. I was so proud of him right there.

"No, but-"

"But what? You're not a little kid anymore. You can't just fall down and cry out when your family starts getting hurt. You have to stand up and fight for them!"

_May be crossing a line, but I think it's working._

"I am not falling down!" Bruce shouted, showing the most anger I'd ever seen him show. "I'm trying to help them and eventually ourselves by making an antidote. Unless _you_ happen to be some secret master chemist?"

"If you think you're really so great, don't you dare raise your voice at Shadow and me, because you should know it won't do any good. None of us can sit around pouting. Let's start planning."

"And how do you plan on doing that?"

"By using logic, something you taught me," he said, lowering his voice to normal levels. "Scarecrow likes leaving traps, catching people when they're alone. Why don't we play him at his own game?"

Bruce's eyes widened in surprise, and then recognitions. "I'm such an idiot," he said, turning his head up and resting a hand on the back of it. "Of course."

"Okay, you lost me about six steps back, mainly due to internally screaming how proud I was of Danny. What are we talking about?" I said, rubbing the back of my neck with a laugh.

"We're going to need bait if we're going to trap him," Danny said, looking at me.

"Oh, no no no," I said, raising my hands. "There is no way in hell. He scares me and he hasn't even gotten his gas to work on me."

"We're all scared Kira, but he's after you. It's our best shot," Bruce agreed.

"Fine, but I refuse to go into anything as Kira Blake again. I can't defend myself in that state," I argued.

"Okay, so Shadowrule will go out on a stroll across rooftops to get some air, she'll make herself noticed with a nice frustrated outburst of fire, and Scarecrow will come after her," Danny said nonchalantly.

"How the hell can you be so calm about this?" I questioned, my voice cracking with a squeak.

"I'm not afraid of him. He makes me angry," he answered.

"I guess that will have to wait," Bruce said as the batwave went off. "He's making a full scale panic at the mall. Danny, I want you in a gas mask."

"Got it Bats," he responded, running over to refill his belt and put on his mask and respirator

I put on my mask, put a few more batarangs in my belt, and grabbed my archery gear before jumping down to the vehicles. Danny and Bats went by way of car, and I decided to fly.

* * *

The mall was completely filled with gas. I could only see about twenty feet in front of me, and everywhere I looked, people were going into a frenzy, screaming, fighting, dropping into the fetal position… It was more of a madhouse than Arkham.

The gas burned my throat, but I got used to it. Chemicals didn't really scare me, people scared me.

"_He's over by the escalators," _Danny called over the comm.

"Thanks D, I'll run over and check it out. You two should stay as far away from conflict as possible. Don't want someone knocking off your masks," I answered.

"_Alright Danny, you and I will go on crowd control,"_ Bats ordered. "_Be careful."_

"I will Bats, I promise," I said, flying over to Scarecrow's location.

"Ah, Shadowrule," he said, his voice rattling my spine, "nice to see you again."

"Again?" I asked, looking at his terrifying figure. "We haven't met face to face before. You tried to gas bomb me, but-"

"Actually, I was thinking of when you were in my class, or when I was hunting you in the hospital," he said smugly, taking an offensive stance.

"I think you've got me confused-"

"No, I saw you transform. After you freed your guardian and brother, remember?"

I looked at him with complete shock. _He knows. He saw. God, I'm so stupid…_ "But that's not possible," I said, taking a step back.

"I saw Shadowrule walk into a room, and Kira Blake walk out. I'm not an idiot. Now I see why you wouldn't join my cause, why my gas wouldn't work. So today, while you hid away, I did a little upgrading," he said, throwing a gas bomb right at my feet. My eyes widened in horror as a green gas cloud started billowing out. It reached my throat in no time, burning worse than any of the gas yet, and caused me to fall to my knee while in a coughing fit. "Not only is it ghost-proof, but strong enough to be foolproof. That would kill any normal human."

His voice echoed, spinning in a dizzying vortex that was becoming my hallucination. _Don't believe it, _I thought. _It's not real._

Well, it's a lot easier to say something isn't real when you're not facing all of your worst fears at once. I looked up to see Light standing next to Scarecrow with a twisted grin on her face. I closed my eyes and tried to rub away the vision, but when I opened them, Scarecrow was completely gone, and all that was left was _her._

"You're not real," I declared, arguing my own eyes.

"But I am. I'm as real as you, remember? You made me," she said, walking up and kicking me in the chest. _That felt real_, I thought in horror.

"No," I argued, looking up at her in fear. "I stopped you. You can't be here. I'm just tripping. You'll be gone in a few hours."

"And yet until then, I have complete control over you," she said, grabbing my head and twisting it, forcing me to look to the side.

"No," I gasped as I saw Mom, Dad, Meg, Bats, Maddie, Jack, Jazz, Alfred, and Danny bound in front of me. "This isn't real," I insisted, covering my eyes with my palms.

"But it is, very, very real," Light insisted, grabbing my arms and wrenching them behind my back. I felt a heavy chain wrap around them and tie them in place. I was completely defenseless. "Now watch," she said with a sickening grin as a patch of fire started under each of them.

"No!" I shouted, trying to get free. "Anything but them. Please not them!"

"Quit struggling, watch," she ordered. "It's your fire that's burning them after all. It's all your fault."

"No, I'm not doing this," I said, clenching my eyes shut and twisting my head, trying to see anything else, but even under my eyelids, I saw the fires growing. "Please," I whimpered in one final attempt to make it end.

"Open your eyes Boo," she ordered, pulling open my eyelids.

I could _hear their screams. _See the fire burning away their skin. It was horrible. "Make it stop. Please, I'll do anything, just make it stop," I pleaded, tears streaming down my face with no stop.

"So you've finally hit the bargaining point?" she said, stepping in front of me and blocking my view of the horrors there. "Join Scarecrow."

Light's body started flickering between her and Crane's like when a light is going out. With tears stinging my eyes, I lowered my head and said, "No. This isn't real, you are. I know it's you Dr. Crane. Quit hiding behind my fears."

"I guess my mixture wasn't strong enough. Ready for another round?" he said, coming at me with another canister.

"I won't join you. I know this is all a hallucination, no matter how much you give me," I said fiercely.

"But that doesn't stop you from seeing it, does it?" he persisted, forcing my head up so I had to see the fire again.

"I don't care. I'd watch Light murder my family a thousand times before I'd subjugate myself to being your partner in your sick game," I said, fighting back the urge to shut up and curl in on myself.

"Alright, we'll see if you still feel the same way after another round," he said, raising the canister to me. But right before he could spray it off, a batarang smacked against his hand, making the canister flip across the room.

I turned my head to see the real Bruce running at Crane. I let out a laugh/sob of relief as Batman decked Scarecrow in the face. The horrors started fading away as Bruce vanished from the set of burning figures. A few more tears of relief fell before another helping hand came to my side.

"Hey sis," Danny said, cutting away the chains Scarecrow had locked me in with a laser pen. His figure vanished when the chains broke, and I flipped around and wrapped him in a hug, crying into his shoulder. "It's okay," he said, patting me on the back, "you're safe now."

"That's not what I was worried about," I cried. "Thank you Danny, for being here."

"Always," he said as we broke the embrace and looked at Bruce and Scarecrow. Just as we did, we saw Scarecrow knocking off Bruce's gas mask with his sickle.

"Bats!" we shouted, running to him as Crane got away. I didn't care though. I was too busy making sure my nightmare didn't become a reality.

"Please tell me you're just afraid of puppies or something," I pleaded as he coughed.

"What? You're not real," he muttered, shaking his head.

Danny and I shared a look before I said, "That was exactly what I said. Hold onto that, please."

* * *

**Bruce's POV**

When I saw Kira, chained and crying, I knew I was too late. Crane had another one of my family under his tricks. I couldn't deal with seeing anyone else suffer. I just… snapped. When I saw him about to get her again, I threw a batarang so hard it made his hand bleed. Then my fist was in his face. As I went to fight him, I heard Shadow laughing through her tears. Whatever was tormenting her, my interruption stopped it, at least a small bit.

I wasn't really thinking as I fought him. All I knew was that I had to stop him from interfering while Phantom freed Shadow. In that state, I wondered if she even remembered she had the power to fight back.

Then I ended up on the ground. The moment it happened, I knew it was bad. Scarecrow raised his sickle over me in a manner that made it seem that he would slice through my chest, but he didn't. A dark smile crossed his face as he said, "I'll let you join Miss Blake in a place worse than hell."

His weapon came down, clipping my mask on the way and knocking it off. The last thing I saw before I knew I was hallucinating was Danny and Kira chasing off Crane. I dissolved into a coughing fit, thinking that it was somehow fitting that I should face my worst fear only after living through it.

II saw Shadow and Danny standing over me, trying to help, but the scene started morphing, changing into something terrible.

Shadow got grabbed from behind by Harley Quinn, laughing all the way as Kira struggled to get free, begging me for help.

"What should I do? You're not real," I said, shaking my head.

"But this is as real as it gets," Joker said, jumping in and unzipping the front of her suit. Harley pulled it away, leaving her exposed in a black T-shirt and her mask. She kept screaming, and I had to force myself to ignore her as they started pouring acid on her skin.

I tried looking away, but all I got was the view of a gunshot ripping through Danny's chest, starting small and growing bigger and bigger with blood. He looked to me with pleading eyes as he dropped to the ground, followed by the sound of pearl hitting concrete. I looked to see who shot him, and just like in all of my nightmares, it was the dark man with his hat pulled low.

I couldn't stop myself from shaking at the sight. Normally that was where I woke up in a cold sweat, thinking about my parents, but it didn't stop. It continued, because every time I turned away from one of the nightmares, I saw another one. Robin laying on the ground whimpering for help, Batgirl screaming as some giant venus flytrap pulled her away, Alfred having a heart attack-

"I'm losing everyone at once," I found myself muttering to myself, closing my eyes rather than facing the horrors.

I heard Kira and Danny's muffled voices calling for me. "_Just face it,"_ Kira shouted. "_Don't be afraid Bats," _Danny ordered.

"No!" I shouted, jumping to my feet. I felt something hit my shoulder, but I didn't care. "This is too much."

"_Danny!" _I heard Kira scream. I couldn't tell whether it was real or fake anymore. Nothing made any sense.

_**To be continued…**_


	44. Chapter 41

**Yeah, last chapter I was trying to give Bruce a realistic fear. I figured his parents' murders were a little overused. By the time he has Robin, I feel like he should have already moved past it a bit. And I think it would be irrational for the side of his dad feeling disappointed like what happened in the animated series. So what does Batman fear for? The lives of his current family obviously. I did try to tie in his parents with the part about the pearls and the shooter, but I didn't want it to be the main thing. Anyway, hope y'all enjoyed it. The Scarecrow arch is about to finish. The end seems a little lackluster. I'm still working on it. I've got a bit of character development in it though, so that's good.**

Danny was screaming about his family dying. I couldn't quite figure out whether or not it was real. I just openly assumed that everything was fake in this state. Kira was shouting, then I heard what sounded like an ectoblast. She called out in pain, but then the tables must have turned on Danny, because another blast sounded in the air, followed by Shadow saying how sorry she was.

"Hey B, can you snap out of it for me please?" she asked, but she sounded distant.

"I don't know how," I responded.

"All you have to do is _watch them die."_

No, that was twisted. "Repeat?"

"Face your fears Bruce, please," she pleaded. "I read Batman comics, watched Batman cartoons and Batman movies every day in my childhood. I can tell you one thing: no matter how hard it got, you never backed down or let fear get the best of you. Not even minutes after your world got torn apart, you promised yourself you'd never let it happen again. Don't let it happen now, or I'll be all alone. Please!"

I opened my eyes and looked up to see her. Her skin was bleached white, and her hair was burned green, her eyes even shone in yellow and red, but she wasn't afraid. She didn't just fall to the hand of fate.

"Please, you've always inspired me to want to be more, don't let me down."

"You inspire me."

"What?" she questioned with confusion.

"You kids give me new reason to want to save the day," I said.

"Then help me," she said, holding out her hand.

I took it and walked out of the fantasy to see Shadow, _my _Shadowrule, standing proud, only wavering when her eyes occasionally flicked to the side.

_She's saving me and she's still seeing her worst fears, _I thought with realization. "Remind me to give you a raise."

"I'm getting paid?"

* * *

**Danny's POV**

We were trying to calm Bruce down. It must have been something bad, because when Kira asked him what he was seeing, he said he was losing everyone at once. That struck a chord with me. He and I had the same fear. I think that's what Kira's fear was too, but I didn't know.

"Just face it!" Kira ordered.

_Face it? How do you face something like that? _I thought. _Of course, he's faced it before. So have I…_

"Don't be afraid Bats," I ordered, leaning towards him to put a hand on his shoulder.

"No!" he shouted, bolting up before I could move. He hit my face as he was going up, knocking my respirator to the ground.

I gasped in shock, and then realized my mistake. The gas burned my throat, almost like the smoke from being caught in a house fire. I grabbed my throat, closing my eyes as I coughed. I think Kira shouted my name, but I couldn't quite tell.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself standing in front of a wrecked Nasty Burger. I closed my eyes and shook my head, trying to make it go away, but it only got worse. Now I could see my family tied to the boiler, and my evil self, as well as Shadow, her eyes completely red, and her hair burning up in rage, contrasting the cool smirk on her face.

"No, Mom, Dad, Sam!" I shouted, looking at their scared faces. "Jazz, Tucker, Mr. Lancer! Please, someone tell me what to do."

"How about this?" Shadow said, lighting her hand with fire. "Burn!"

My eyes widened in horror as she shot fire at the boiler, making the pressure needle rise higher and higher. "No!" I shouted, charging an ectoblast at her. It hit her straight in the chest, and she looked viciously angry.

"Cool it D!" she shouted, charging a red blast and throwing it my way. It hit me in the gut, causing me to fly back and hit a half-broken wall in the ruins.

"I'm sorry," she muttered emotionlessly, running to my evil self while my life exploded in front of me.

"No, no! Bring them back!" I pleaded, looking to the sky. "Come on you stupid stopwatch, you always come and stop it!"

After a few seconds of him not showing up, I curled my legs in on myself and let a tear fall from my eye for everyone I cared about that was strapped to that boiler. I looked up to see Kira pleading with future-me. I couldn't understand why, but then I looked harder. He seemed hurt, slumping a bit and holding his arms around his chest.

_Good, _I thought, _he ruined my life, let him feel some pain._ "Face your fears Bruce, please!"

"Bruce?" I questioned. "That's not Bruce, unless…" _This isn't real, _I finally realized.

I watched as they talked for a moment before they took each other's hands and came over to me. Shadow was wrapping her arms around herself, peering to the right like there was something scary there. I followed her gaze, but all I saw was waste and rubble. _She must be seeing something._

"Danny, can we go home?" she pleaded, trying to keep the shake out of her voice.

"Are you Batman?" I asked, looking at the figure.

"Yeah, what's wrong?" he responded, looking at me through _his _eyes.

"You don't look like you right now," I said, my voice shaking.

"What do we look like Danny?" Kira asked, kneeling down next to me.

"You look like you, but he looks like _him_," I said, looking between them.

"Who?" Bruce questioned in confusion.

"The Light to Danny's Shadow," Kira said knowingly. "Take my hand so we can go home. I really don't want to be here for much longer."

I reached out a shaking hand to her, and she grabbed it, pulling me to my feet. As I stepped forward, the Nasty Burger faded, and Bruce looked like himself again, but I could still hear _his _laughter.

"What did you guys see?" I asked, looking them both up and down. Bruce seemed to have collected himself, but Shadow was still fidgeting.

"Puppies apparently," Bats said with a smile aimed at Shadow.

She laughed and rubbed at the back of her neck. "I really don't want to talk about it," she muttered, flicking a look to the side again.

"The better question is, what are you still seeing?" Bruce asked her with concern.

* * *

**Kira's POV**

"You have to tell us what you're seeing so we can help you," Bruce insisted as I went to sit by the fire for comfort.

"I don't want to talk about it!" I snapped before reaching down and sticking my hand into the fireplace. I let the flames lick at my fingers, trying to find some comfort.

"Kira, you can't break the effects if you don't face what's scaring you," Danny said.

"You want to know what's scaring me? A madman caught me midmorph, and then pumped me with an overdose of fear gas big enough to power Sinestro for ten lifetimes and take Oa to its knees. Is that what you want me to say?" I shouted, my hair flaming up.

"Who's Oa and what's a Sinestro?" Danny asked, leaning into Bruce.

"Oa is the Green Lantern planet and Sinestro is a Yellow Lantern," Bruce explained.

"I'll pretend I get what that means," he said, giving Bruce a thumbs up.

"Part of clearing out the toxin is facing your fear. The easiest way to do that is to talk to someone," Bruce said.

"Bruce, he completely tormented me," I said, curling into myself as I stared at the flames in fear, seeing my loved ones burn there too. "He said if I didn't join him, he'd get me again. Do you know what I told him?"

"What?" he asked.

"I told him I would rather watch Light murder my family than join him. I said that," I said, tears threatening to come again. "But I can't deal with it for much longer. It's killing me."

"It's alright," he said, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"No," I sobbed, "I can still hear them screaming. I see their flesh _melting off their bodies. _God, you were there too, but then you guys saved me, and you disappeared. Light said it would all go away if I just joined Crane, but I couldn't. I was so close to just saying yes, but I couldn't."

I didn't even realize they were hugging me until I opened my eyes. I just accepted it, not even moving, as the phantoms in the fireplace faded, and the screams quieted to light echoes.

"Promise me something," I said.

"What?" Danny asked.

"Promise me nothing will ever happen to you."

"We promise," Bruce said.

_Peaceful silence._


	45. Chapter 42

**This really probably should have cut off and made two chapters, but it seemed too short when I cut them in half. Time to address two problems, one a major enemy, and one major problem :P. You know who I'm talking about. Anyway, on to the story!**

We slept up by the fireplace that night. It was really the only way to go. Even though the boys had completely shaken the gas, I kept feeling its effects. It wasn't the intense hallucinations anymore, just a constant anxiety, every noise and moving shadow making my heart jump.

In all truth, Scarecrow had overdosed me. It was enough to get me to hallucinate after all, but too much for it to leave my system in the span of a day. Bruce worked on making the antidote, because even though we could fight back, Robin was in too deep and we were afraid it would strain Alfred's heart. That much excitement is dangerous, even for him.

Even after the horrible events of the night before, we were still going to go ahead with our plan. Luckily, Bruce had finished the antidote by sundown, administering it to Dick and sending more off to Gotham General. Dick was still only semi-conscious and was weak from being strained for so long, so Bruce ordered him to stay in the cave.

And that's how I ended up on a rooftop, overlooking the lower class part of Gotham, having refused the antidote myself.

"_He's probably just gonna dose me again. Might as well get it all in my system before we get it out," I had said._

"_Alright," Bruce had replied, "but know a second time through will probably be crippling."_

"_I'm not afraid."_

That was what I thought of as I bounced fireballs between my hands, taking in the sweet smell of smoke every time some unfortunate insect or piece of trash would flutter into it.

"A stray from the flock?" I heard a dark voice say from behind me.

"I'm sick of living in fear," I said, keeping my back to him.

"So, you've thought about my offer?"

"No," I said solidly, forcing one of my fire balls to go blue before throwing it high into the air. My eyes followed it until it exploded into a spray of sparkling bits. "I've been trying to perfect that; turning fire into fireworks without using metal. I can use ectoplasm and varying heat to change the colour, but I still haven't been able to make a multi-coloured one."

"I'm going to have to drive you to insanity. It's an eye for an eye concept, but there is still something I want to know," he said, stepping closer to me with the crunching of rocks on the rooftop.

"Not that far of a drive. Sit down and ask me all about the universe. I may not know everything, but I'll act like I do," I said, patting the edge of the roof next to me. "Humour me before you turn my brain to goo."

With a small snort, he came up next to me and sat down, overlooking the cityscape. I turned the next ball green before throwing it into the air, making it burst into a shower of glitter.

"Who, or rather, what are you, and where are you from?" he questioned, running the blade of his sickle over his hand.

"I'm Kira Blake, I'm a ghost, and I was born on Earth," I said, throwing a white fireball.

"Where?"

"Iowa. Crappy little state if I ever saw one, but it's got great sweet corn. Oh,and I was born in '99, so that puts me… a few years off in the grand scheme of things," I said, tipping my head in thought.

"That's not possible. That would make you-"

"Nine, I know," I said, forming a few more fireballs in my hand. "Did I mention I'm from another dimension? The years get a little off in the cross dimensional travel."

"So that explains it," he said with satisfaction.

"Vlad Masters pulled me through some kind of looking glass gone wrong. Gave me ghost powers with the same emotion I was having the moment I teleported as my obsession. Angry little Kira wants to fight the world," I said, shaking my head. "Luckily, with the superhero rulebook still in effect, you won't remember any of this."

"Superhero rulebook?" he questioned.

"Well, it's not an _actual _book. But there's this unspoken truth that if someone discovers a hero, they either die, lose their memory, or vow never to speak of it again. Sadly, I only see two options there for you," I said, throwing out a red firework.

"What about the other rule, where the villain kills the hero?" he said, standing up.

"Oh, doesn't happen. They tried it in the movie _All Superheroes Must Die_, but it was a total bust," I said, tossing a pink fireball into the sky.

"Really? Then I guarantee you it will work this time," he said, standing up and stepping away from the edge. I made a show of not caring by making another blast.

"Not really," I sighed, finally standing up.

"And why is that?"

"Because Bats is standing right behind you as we speak. You're a bit slow on the uptake. Oh, and welcome to our trap," I said, still facing towards Gotham. "Not as scary as yours, but in light of you stealing the role of Gotham's nightmare, we had to adjust."

"You can't be serious," he scoffed in disbelief.

"Actually, Shadowrule can be quite serious when she wants to be."

I assumed that made him turn around, because a second later I heard a loud smack, and the crunch of the roof from Crane's body dropping. That's when I decided to face him.

He scrambled across the roof, desperately trying to get away from our trap. After a moment, recognition crossed his face. He pulled a canister of fear gas from his belt and threw it on the ground in front of us. Danny landed just as a huge cloud billowed around us. I could tell it was affecting me, so it must have been doing horrors for the boys. I caught sight of the burning figures in the corner of my vision with a sigh. In two seconds, I drew my bow and shot down each of them. It wasn't worth seeing something so horrible just to feel some semblance of humanity. With each hit, the figures disappeared, and I turned back to Scarecrow.

"What were you shooting?" Danny asked, shifting his gaze around in wonder. I had no idea what he was seeing, but it didn't seem real anymore.

"My family," I replied in an empty tone, aiming my bow at Crane's face. After changing my glance to Danny and Bats for a silent conversation, Danny swooped down with a fluid movement, pulling off the teacher's mask. Once he was out of the way, I moved my aim before letting an arrow fly, piercing one of the more powerful cans of fear gas.

The green tinted gas seemed to pool around him and him alone. I flinched when he started screaming, and a hand found itself on my shoulder. I looked back to see Bruce, standing tall and solid, but holding a reassuring look on me.

"This doesn't feel right," Danny finally voiced after about five minutes of screaming. "I may be mad at him, but this is just… I feel like _Him."_

"Sometimes being good means doing bad things, even if we don't like it," Bruce remarked.

"It doesn't make us evil. We're just trying to protect each other, and Alfred," I said. "But even as that stands…"

I pulled my bit of the antidote and a pellet of knockout gas from my belt. It meant I'd have to wait until we got back to the cave, but I didn't mind. I pressed the injector up to the villain's neck and watched as he slowly calmed down, his eyes still glassy and afraid_. I overdosed him like he did to me. _

Much to my mentor and companion's confusion, I reached a hand down to hold Crane's. Nobody should have to be alone in their fear. "Jonathan?" I asked, rousing him from his empty stare into nothing. "Do you know who I am?"

"Y-you're… you're that Shadow kid aren't you?" he asked, looking scared and confused.

"Yeah. I'm Batman's apprentice," I elaborated.

"Of course. C-can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"What are you afraid of?"

Bruce's shoulders tensed. Danny took a fighting stance. I just looked at the two and shook my head. "Fear," I finally said, "and being alone."

"Oh," he muttered, looking up to the sky with fear and a hint of a tear in the corner of his eye. "Am I alone? I hear noises in the dark, but am I alone?"

"No," I said, squeezing his hand, "you don't ever have to be alone if you don't want to be. I'm going to help you rest, and then we're going to take you to a place where you can get some help. Is that alright?"

"Oh-okay," he said, slipping back into his own mind.

I scrunched my eyes tightly for a moment, trying to control my emotions before I sprayed the knockout gas into his face. His body fully relaxed and his eyes shut tightly.

"How did you know that he wouldn't remember?" Danny asked.

"I didn't. Logically speaking, I should have left him in that state for longer, but I just… I couldn't watch it. He shouldn't have had to be alone. We weren't," I said, sitting down on the rooftop next to my ex-teacher with crossed legs and anticipation. "I won't leave him until they come for him. You should call in Gordon."

"Alright," Bats said, walking away with one of his many devices to call the commissioner.

Danny came to sit by my side. An odd look crossed his face, one I couldn't read. He was thinking hard, but I brought noise into the void. "I don't think you're anything like that 'Dark Dan' as your fans took to calling him. You're too good. It's the fact that this actually hurts us that proves we're nothing like him or her or Scarecrow or any of the other baddies. Just think of it as a really harsh mind wipe, one we won't repeat. I'll be smarter and more careful next time."

"That's all it's really about anymore, isn't it? Trying to find the positive?" he responded. "I get what it's like to be you now, thrown into a new world where none of the old rules apply. It's not just black and white anymore. Gotham's nothing but grey."

"Oddly, that part feels more like home to me. But you have grey areas too. Your parents and Val mainly," I said.

"I guess you're right. Are you feeling okay after all those drugs?"

"Yeah," I said, looking into the sea of fire all around us. Danny's aura glowed bright blue, cooling everything he touched. "I think I'm going to be okay."

"Good."

"You wanna know something else?"

"What?"

"I love you little bro."

"Love you too sis," he responded as two police cars and an ambulance came down the street.

"Hey, that's Yin and Bennett again. They seriously need to get over their infatuation, " I remarked, looking over the edge of the building at the new arrivals.

"Infatuation? Dude, I think she's about to figure out who you are," he said.

"Yeah, I can tell, especially from the spicy look on Bennett's face. He's in denial. Watch this," I said, cupping my hands up like a megaphone over my mouth. "Hey Yin, what's your favourite colour? Maybe I can use it to deduce your secret identity!"

"Laugh it up Shadow," she called back. "It won't be long before we're knocking on your door."

"Door? You have no idea how funny that is for a ghost. I'm gonna take you on a trip to the Zone one of these days," I shot back before turning back to Crane. A frown graced my lips at the sad form. I took it upon myself to pick up the man, supporting his head, and float down to the two detectives below.

The medics rushed over to take him, so I handed him over, but I couldn't seem to take my focus off of him.

"You'll make sure he gets help, right?" I asked, taking a quick glance at Yin. "He had a nasty overdose of his own toxin. He didn't seem to remember anything when he was awake."

"And that in no way ended in your favour?" she remarked.

The glare I shot her would have made Batman proud. "I won't lie, some of his knowledge was… problematic, but that feeling… it's terrible. I'm going to do check ins on him, at least, until we have to go."

"Go?" Bennett asked.

"Danny and I have strange lives, or afterlives. Whatever," I said, dropping to a mutter. "Being a ghost is confusing. I'm a bit fresh from the grave."

"Being a half ghost must be more so," Yin remarked.

"A halfa? I wouldn't know. Have to ask my little cousin Danielle or Uncle Vlad," I said, crossing my arms as my eyes narrowed.

"Uncle Vlad?" Ethan asked.

"Well, that crappy cheese-head wishes he was my dad, but I use uncle as more of a joke or when I'm conning him for money. He was in on that raid on the station. Good ol' Plazzy, at least he's predictable."

"You're saying Vlad Plasmius is a half ghost, and you, sidekick to the Batman, ask him, a villain, for money?" Yin asked.

"Hey, why not? He gives me money, I don't burn him for calling me little badger or dear," I said, shrugging my shoulders. "He's a creep, but he's a creep with money."

"That seems seriously low," Ethan remarked.

"Nothing is too low when he's involved," I said bitterly. "But I should head back to Bats. I'm in need of some serious antitoxins."

"Another time Miss Blake," she remarked.

"You think I'm that little street punk pet Phantom brought home? You're just embarrassing yourself now Ellen. Bye Ethan, see you on a better day. Might wanna make sure your partner doesn't keep harassing any poor little human girls," I said, waving them off as I ran towards the Batmobile.

"Believe me, I've tried," he muttered, grabbing his face and shaking his head before looking back to his partner with annoyance.

"It's so obvious _Danielle_. You can deny it all you want, but I know, and I'll have proof soon enough," she remarked.

"You know I stole that name from my cousin, right? Dani Phantom with an _i._ My name's Shadowrule, the one and only, get over it," I remarked before giving a mock salute and phasing into the car.

"You probably shouldn't talk that much," Bruce said from the seat next to me, nearly giving me a heart attack.

"Jesus! I didn't even know you were there. Sorry, I'm trying to play it off. She's got it down Bats. She always has been on your case. Ellen Yin was a character written to be the woman who finds the man behind the Bat. That's just what she does," I remarked, staring at the roof in thought.

"You have a point. How do you think we should proceed?" he said evenly.

"Wait, you're asking me?" I questioned, looking at him in shock.

"You always have been one to be independent. I'll make sure we don't do anything irrational, but I want to know how you would deal with this."

"Well… uh, when Barb got frustrated over Robin knowing your ID and you not telling her, you brought her in. And you let us into the fold, and I knew who you were anyway. She obviously knows. I feel like she has a loyalty to you, so she wouldn't wreck your secret if we just told her. And she's a cop, so we'd have a direct line to the police for assistance or whatever. She's obviously told Ethan her findings, he's in denial though. But you were going to tell him anyway before the whole Clayface incident. If we told one, we would have to tell the other. That's how it is. So I guess… I would tell her," I said, looking at him for confirmation.

He slowly nodded his head a few times in thought and finally said, "I think you're right. We'll wait three days, then I'll tell Ethan, and you'll tell Yin."

"Wait wait wait, me tell Yin? But it's your club house!"

"And you're the one who blew our cover," he said with a steely glare.

"All I did was look the same in my forms. I can't help she's the only one with common sense!"

"This is final. Three days, then you deal with Yin," he said, leaving no room for argument. All I could do was let out a groan and smack my head into the dash. I could _hear _the amused grin on his face, I swear.


	46. Advisory

As a quick note, I'm afraid this story will be on hiatus for a while. I feel like I don't remember my original material enough to keep my details straight going forward, so I'm rereading/rewriting my old chapters starting from my first story. The changes aren't major, it's just that I wrote that story the summer after my freshman year of high school, so looking back now after years of advanced English classes, it seems rather weakly written. Basically I'm making the characters more like themselves, degoddifying some slightly OP moments of Kura's to include supporting characters more, and fixing majorly dumb spelling/grammar errors. Sorry for the inconvenience. I love you my wonderful followers, and this is DarkShadowrule, signing out.


	47. Chapter 43

**Sorry I've been away so long. Writer's block. I was planning on completely finishing this arch before publishing, but I started to lose interest. If I start the piece and publish it, though, I will feel compelled to push forward. So, here's the start of something big.**

The room was dark. The rain pattering on the roof built up, making the metal groan. While the building was quite new, poor architectural design made it sound sickly. Of course, the building, while made welcoming to the living, was optimized for the dead.

"We know you know where the ghost kids went," a gruff man in a white suit insisted.

"Of course I know you dult, but why should I tell you?" the anaemic man in the lone chair spat.

"We're prepared to make a deal," the other man in white added.

"What kind of deal?"

* * *

"Did you come up with a plan to tell the detective?" Bats asked, striking down a thug in a flurry of his midnight cape.

"How about a cake with a lovely personalized message?" I asked, smacking a guy that was trying to sneak up behind me.

All I got in response was a glare.

"Oh come on, gummy bats on top? She'd love it," Danny joked, shooting a blue ectoblast at a guy about to hit Robin.

"Not helping my case, Phantom," I said, shooting him a glare in perfect mirror of Bruce's.

"You two spend way too much time together," Robin said, knocking out the last guy and walking up to meet up with us.

"That's ridiculous," Bruce and I started at the same time.

Dick and Danny both raised spectacle eyebrows.

"Ah, says you," I muttered, waving them off.

Robin grinned, twirling his staff and stashing it on his back. "Rough night tonight," he said, adding a yawn for affect.

"You three should head in for the night. I can take it from here," Bruce said.

"No, I'm fine. I can stay up," I argued, stepping in front of him.

He scrutinized my stance and walked a slow circle around me before settling back to his original position. With a frown, he grabbed my shaking arm and held it up. "Your muscles are exhausted. Robin, Phantom, you start heading out."

"But-"

"Phantom, go," Bruce ordered.

Shooting me a look of concern, he picked up Robin and floated off. Bruce gave me a look and pulled out his grappling gun and swung up to the top of a nearby building. Getting the hint, I pulled out my grappler and followed him.

"Why are you pushing yourself so much?"

"I have to."

"Why? What's wrong with you?" he questioned.

"Nothing. Nothing's wrong at all," I insisted. The glare again. "Alright, alright, since you are such a great talker… I just… have a bad feeling in my gut. I felt something pulling at my core yesterday. I think it could be a portal, and…"

"You don't think you're ready yet."

I took the time to fiddle with my quiver strap, and a tenseness spread between us.

A pointed glove settled on my shoulder, and I looked up to see white slits staring right at me. "Whenever the time comes, you'll be ready. That is, as long as you aren't falling over from exhaustion."

"You're starting to sound like Alfred," I said, laughing off the tension.

"Well, while I may not listen to him all the time, he does make some good points. Just don't tell him I said it," he said, going back to stand at full height.

My lips curled up in an involuntary smile. I thought to initiate a hug or something, but decided against it. Heroes don't need hugs. "So, uh, I should go. Maybe you ought to head in too. You do have a board meeting tomorrow morning, and even though you are the _invincible_ Batman, you have to pick one face over the other sometimes."

"I won't say you're right," he muttered.

With a satisfied smirk, I pulled out my grappler again. I raised my arm, but stopped at the whirring of the Batwave. "Looks like we both might be stuck out a bit late."

"Robin and Phantom are in trouble."

I wizened up fast. "Where?"

"Gotham Time Square."

* * *

"Come on, what's going on down there?" I whined.

"Shh. Five men in white, a pale circus master. They're just standing there. Phantom's on the ground. Robin's covering him," he stated, putting away his binoculars.

"Wait, Guys in White? Danny's in serious danger," I gasped, running to the edge. "We've got to stop them!"

"Calm down. Who are they?" he asked, grabbing my cloak.

"Ghost hunters. Government funded ghost hunters. Danny's not prepared for them. They could tear him apart mole-"

"CALM. DOWN," he said sternly. "We can face them. Stay in human form."

"Yes sir," I said, taking a deep breath.

After my shoulders settled to a more calm posture, he gave me a nod and pulled out a grappling gun. A second later, we were both swinging down and landing in front of the boys.

"Those are my brothers you're messing with," I said, sending the agents a Batglare.

"I'm afraid we haven't been properly introduced," the anaemic weirdo said walking forward. "My name is Freakshow, ringmaster over all ghosts."

"Who is this guy?" Bats growled quiet enough that only I could hear him.

"A bit fuzzy, but he seems… important somehow," I whispered back. "What do you freaks want?"

"We're here to take the ghost fugitives listed as Danny Phantom, AKA Inviso-Bill, and his cohort Shadowrule, also known as Ms. Phantom," Agent O stated in a direct fashion.

"Never heard that one before," I muttered.

"We request you step aside, or be taken down with great prejudice," Agent K added.

"Agents, if I may," Freakshow said, pushing past them. "This girl is obviously a ghost."

"Why do you say that?" O asked.

"Her skin is white and her eye slits are glowing. His aren't," he observed. Blinking, I realized my vision had taken a reddish tint.

They started raising their weapons, so I twirled my cloak around me, covering my transformation. I ended standing tall as ghost girl Shadowrule, protecting my brothers. "You stay away from them."

"She's a shapeshifter," K said. "Take them down."

"Over my dead body!" I shouted, raising a shield.

"Or theirs," an agent I didn't know said, pulling forward two unseen prisoners.

"Sam, Tucker!" Danny shouted from his spot on the ground.

"We'll let your conspirators go if you come quietly."

"Come where?" I shouted. "Don't you idiots get it? That portal was a one way trip. There's no going back. You have no power here."

"That's what you think. Fire!"

Their blasts pelted my shield, some of them my shield buster style. I tied the shield directly to my core just to keep it up, but that made each hit actually _hurt_. "Have to… protect," I grunted, falling to one knee. "Batman, punch the shield. It'll… shoot ectoblasts."

Taking my advice, he and Robin punched and kicked the shield like they would a thug. In turn, green blasts split from the red shield and slammed into the agents.

"Bring out the gauntlet," Agent K shouted from behind his ghost proof metal shield.

I looked up to see one of the unnamed agents carrying a briefcase over to Freakshow. It opened to show a brassy glove and three gemstones. "That thing's… trouble. Bats, you need to-"

One large blast shattered my shield, causing me to go tumbling back into a heap next to Danny, who was just standing up.

"Shadow!" Danny shouted, stopping a blast from hitting me.

"'M fine. Stop Freakshow," I groaned. Giving me a warry look, he eventual hurried off after the ringmaster.

"Don't change back. Don't change back," I muttered, reaching down to my utility belt. _Smoke bombs._

Gas filled up the air around us, blinding all the agents. _Next move, acid capsules. _Pushing myself to my feet, I managed to sprint at the agents whose blind firing was giving away their locations. _So tired… No, stop thinking like that. _Springing into the air and twisting my chest, I tossed the acid caps onto their weapons, rendering them useless.

Sick laughter snapped through the air like a whip, and the gas seemed to take on a life of its own. It condensed, and a small cloud flew right at my face. I tried to dodge, but it was too fast. It pushed into my nose and open mouth, burning my throat with the strong chemicals. I couldn't breathe.

"That, you simpletons, was the gem of form. And now, no human or pathetic ghost can stop me," Freakshow cackled, kicking the side of my head as he skipped past us.

Panicking, I grabbed onto my throat, struggling to choke in a breath. Glancing around, I realized everyone but the handcuffed Tucker and Sam were in the same condition. They seemed panicked too, rushing over to Danny's side.

Taking a moment to think, I got an idea. I went intangible, and the gas dispersed around me. Going solid again, I curled up on the ground, coughing like death. After taking a moment to put my head back on my shoulders, I ran to each of the grounded people, starting with my team. _Danny, Bats, Robin_. They coughed, stuck on the ground as they were too weak to get up. _K, O, Thing 1, 2, and 3. So much exertion, so little air. _Soon, I was back on my knees, struggling to catch a breath in my burning lungs.

"Just where every ghost should be, kneeling before me," Freakshow said, standing in front of me.

"D...D...d…"

"What is it ghost? Prepared to beg for your afterlife?"

"Dickbag," I choked.

An angry frown graced his face. "Insolent freak."

A large boot struck my stomach, followed by a metal hand gripping my hair. _Bruce is down, Danny's down, Robin's down. No one to save you, _a little voice in the back of my head said. _Just admit it. You're scared. No no, focus._

I could taste ectoplasm and blood in my mouth, but I grabbed his foot on his next kick anyway, making him trip to the ground. He quickly jumped to his feet, but he seemed to be done with his fun. "Time to make my grand exit," he announced as Bats and Danny began to struggle to their feet. "Lydia!"

A swirl of green creatures flew around him, blocking him from sight. Then the screen started shrinking, blinking out of sight.

Groaning, I let my head fall to the concrete. "Help," I choked, coughing up my orange-red blood as black specks started clouding my vision.

"Hey, hey, stay awake buddy," Tucker's voice echoed. I felt two hands pick me up from under my arms.

"'M up, 'm up," I grumbled, letting them half carry me over to the awaiting Batmobile.

"What's wrong with her blood?" Sam asked.

"How should I know?" Tucker questioned. "I'm a techno geek, not a doctor!"

"Normal," I coughed. "Where's-"

"I'm right here Shadow," Bats said, his voice more gruff than normal. "Danny's up, but Robin's not handling it too well. He's only-" His voice broke off into a fit of coughing that seemed so strange coming from him.

"Human," I finished for him.

"You three and Robin will take the Batmobile, autopilot only. I'll take Phantom on the R-Cycle," he ordered.

"Be careful," I said as Sam and Tucker helped me up into the back seat.

"Always," he said, helping Robin into the seat next to me. "Take care of him."

"B, he's my brother," I said.

With a nod, he drifted off to Robin's bike where Danny was waiting. Sam and Tucker jumped in and the hatch closed. "Autopilot on," I stated.

"Destination?" a robotic voice asked.

"Home."

"Autopilot on, destination Batcave selected," the computer responded as the engine started.

"What the heck is a Batcave?"


	48. Chapter 44

With a respirator mask in one hand and a bloodied rag in the other, I waited on a metal exam table in the cave, listening to the adults talk. Bruce was on the coms talking to J'onn, and Sam and Tucker were trying to get Danny to fill them in on everything. Dick was snoozing with a respirator on, and Alfred was giving me an earful about not antagonizing people when I'm at a disadvantage.

"He started it," I choked.

"We did pick up readings of a dimensional disturbance," J'onn informed Bruce. "We just assumed that with the following high ectoplasmic energy readings in the area that it was just more ghostly entities coming through."

"Those _ghostly entities_ nearly killed me and my kids," Bruce hissed. "Why was I not informed?"

"I apologize Batman. Do you wish for the League's assistance?"

"Not yet. But keep everyone close. Make sure Lantern and Superman stay planetside," he ordered.

"Of course. I'll inform the team," Martian said, signing off.

With a groan of frustration, Bruce pushed back his cowl and ran a hand through his sweat-soaked hair. "Sometimes I wonder what the use spending ten billion on that Watchtower really was," he muttered, slipping into the chair beside me. He started going into a coughing fit, so I handed down my oxygen mask to him, pressing the rag up against my nose. Frowning, he grabbed it and took a few deep breaths.

"Miss Blake, it's a wonder you still have all your teeth. I shall head up to the manor and prepare some snacks for our guests," Alfred nagged before heading for the elevator.

"Maybe if I actually lost teeth I would be more concerned," I muttered, earning a stern glance from Bruce.

"So, uh, who are you?" Tucker asked.

Pulling off the respirator mask, he answered, "Bruce Wayne, but when the cowl is up, you will call me Batman."

"Easier that way," I said. "I only ever think of him as Bruce when he's dad-nagging me. Ow! Didn't I get beat up enough today?"

"Obviously not," Bruce responded, pulling his hand away from my ear.

"So, you're… Batman, and that kid's your son?"

"He's my partner, and he lives here with me, same as Shadow and Phantom. His name is Robin, or Dick Grayson here if you feel so inclined."

"And here is the Batcave?" Sam asked.

"Yes, below my mansion."

"Mansion?" Tucker squeaked.

"Dude, Sam's literally rich, why would a guy with this much tech surprise you?" Danny deadpanned.

"Point taken. I'll just stop talking now."

"About time," Sam said.

"Hey!"

"You two really are the... characters Danny and Kira described. Well, if it wasn't already noted, you're welcome into my home at any time. Just don't touch anything that looks like it could blow up, for obvious reasons," Bruce said, going back to breathing in oxygen.

"Don't worry guys, that's probably the nicest he's ever been to strangers, especially on a bad day," Danny said, clapping Tucker on the shoulder.

"Well, it's been a long day, and I think my bleeding has stopped, so I'm going to head up to bed," I said, standing up.

"I think you should sleep the night down here under observation. You did take some hard hits," Bruce said.

"I've taken harder. Besides, I'd probably get more injury from sleeping on that slab like Bird-Brain," I said, throwing a thumb at Robin, still in his suit and curled up into a ball.

Danny winced in sympathy. "Head on up," Bruce said.

With a nod, I did just that, limping over to the elevator and taking it up to the main house. Staring up at the staircase with concern, I decided to end my journey, laying down on the couch with a groan.

"I assume you'll want a blanket?"

"If it ain't too much trouble, Al," I mumbled into the cushion.

"Someday you'll all learn to take it safer," he tutted, heading into the elevator.

"Love you too Al," I laughed.

And with that, everything went dark.

* * *

"We need to depart in ten minutes Miss Blake!"

"Sorry, sorry, I'm coming!" I shouted, floating down the stairs while pulling on a pair of socks. "Woah!"

Dick tackled me out of the air just as I was passing the last handrail. "What the heck Dick?" I shouted.

"Shh, those White Guys are at the door," he whispered.

"GIW. What are they doing here?" I hissed.

"They got strong ectoplasmic readings coming from the mansion. Apparently they want to talk to Bruce," he explained.

"But he's at his board meeting. I woke him up myself," I said.

"They insist on waiting here until he gets back."

"I'll get them to leave. Are my eyes good?" I said, standing up.

"Green as they should be."

"Thanks," I said, running into the foyer. "Hey Al, I'm ready- Oh, Agent K, O, what are you guys doing here?"

"The Fenton kid?" K questioned, looking shocked.

"Actually, it's Blake. Kira Blake. I just lived with the Fentons," I said.

"What are you doing here?" O questioned.

"The Fentons got word that the ghosts were all going through a portal to another world that didn't have ghost hunting equipment, so Danny and I volunteered to act as liaisons between FentonWorks and this world's police. Turns out the portal was a bit one-sided though, so we've developed a working relationship with Wayne Industries, sharing weapons schematics with their R&amp;D division. Then they build the tech and export it for police and private use. If you wish to receive more information, I must ask that you contact Mr. Wayne's secretary. Here's her card. I'm sure if you ask, you could get a private tour of our research facilities. However, right now, Daniel, Richard, and I must go to school, so the manor will be left unattended. For obvious reasons, I must ask you to leave," I said, finishing with a deep breath. "Did I do good Alfred?"

"Quite well Miss Blake. Do you have any more questions agents?" he answered happily.

"This building has been giving off high ectoplasmic energy counts. Care to explain yourselves?"

"Sorry, that's my fault," Danny said, coming into the room. "Bruce keeps some refined ectoplasm on hand so I can tinker with some of my parents old tech. You know, making it smaller. This dimension has some great compact technology."

"We didn't realize you inherited your parents' obsession for ghosts," Agent K said.

"I kept it quiet for a long time. I was already the kid with freaky parents after all."

"Hm, understood. And where is this Wayne Industries?" O asked.

"Ah, of course," I said, walking out the door past them. "You see that skyscraper with the big W on it?"

"Yes."

"That's B's building. Goodbye agents," I said, abruptly turning to face them.

"We'll be watching you Miss Blake," they said, turning to leave.

"Actually, you won't. You're not government sanctioned here. If you return to this property without calling ahead, I will be getting in contact with the police, and believe me, Mr. Wayne has some friends in high places," I snapped.

"You listen here brat-"

"Excuse me sir, you will not take that kind of tone with anyone on this property. You need to leave," Alfred hissed.

"Of course," K said, grabbing O and pulling him to their vehicle.

"Those are very nasty men," Alfred said, looking flustered.

"Hey, that's nothing. In Amity Park they'll break through your wall with a battering ram for no reason. It got so bad that in ghost populated areas like Amity and Wisconsin, there's insurance for 'government damages'," Danny said.

"Do you guys really have to go? What are we going to do all day?" Tucker questioned.

"Tucker, they have to go to school," Sam said, hitting him on the back of the head.

"It may interest you that Daniel has quite a large entertainment system in his room," Alfred said.

"And I've got all the fan made Batman and Friends comic books you could ever ask for. One of Bruce's pranks. They think he's a _news reporter by day, crime fighter by night. _Priceless. And they ship me and Batgirl, which I find creepy, a lot," I said with a shiver. "They put them together using old police reports mixed with some imagination. It might be good for you to learn about some of our adventures."

"I'll take the 'history files'," Sam said.

"And I'm all about those video games," Tucker said, running off.

"Ugh, bye guys," she said.

"Bye Sam," Danny and I chimed.

"Bye," Dick said, running off to the limo.

Danny, Alfred, and I followed suit, waving Sam and Tucker off as I pushed up my backpack strap. "It's going to be a long day," I sighed, climbing into the limo and pressing my head into the back of my seat.

"Still tired?" Dick asked.

"Yep, and I still sound like I smoked a pack if I'm not careful," I said, coughing to emphasise my point.

"I feel bad for Bruce at his board meeting," Danny said.

"Eh, I'm sure he's fine," Dick stated.

_Elsewhere…_

"Mr. Wayne? Mr. Wayne, are you sleeping?"

"What? No, no, not at all," he said, jumping up to sit straighter.

_At the school…_

"Kira, do you have a cold?" Kris asked.

"Yeah, sorry. It's been going around the manor," I explained, closing my locker door. "The boys all have it too."

"Even Bruce?" Amber asked in a startled voice.

"Yes Amber, even though you may have a celeb crush on my d- Bruce, doesn't mean he's a perfect, invincible Greek god," I said with a laugh.

"There's that Freudian slip again, Kira," Kris said. "There isn't something you want to admit to, is there?"

"Please, after that creep Crane started obsessing over me, I don't even want to hear about psychology," I remarked with a shiver.

"Is it true then?" Sadie whispered. "Did you actually… use it?"

"Come on Sadie, you can't ask questions like that," Kris admonished.

"No, it's okay. It definitely wasn't not voluntarily," I shuddered. "He offered it to me during detention. I ran like it was going out of style. Called the cops. After he got Alfred… he attacked me in the hospital. It was… horrifying."

"God, you poor thing," Amber gasped. "We should head to English."

"Yeah, you're right," I said, shaking my head. "English."

"I'll walk with you guys," Kris said.

"I've got to be across the building so, gotta jet," Sadie said, running off.

So, the three of us started walking towards the English wing. "Are you okay though? Seriously okay?" Kris asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine K, promise," I said with a half smile.

"Good. I just wor-"

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

"What the heck is that?" I shouted, covering my hypersensitive ears.

"The threat alarm!" Amber shouted back. "It goes off when a criminal starts making threats over the airways. We have to go to the nearest classroom."

"Does this happen often?"

"You have no idea!" Kris shouted, putting a hand on my back and leading us to the nearby Spanish room.

"Estudiantes, ¿estás bien?" the teacher asked.

"Uh, si," I said awkwardly.

"Siéntate," she responded, pointing to some empty chairs.

The three of us nodded and sat down. Then the teacher wheeled in a TV, flipping it on.

"Freakshow!" I gasped, sitting up in my seat.

"Kira, I know it's your first time, but… Oh, is it the clown thing?" Amber asked.

"Um," I said, swallowing to clear my throat, "yeah, that's it."

"Hahaha! It is I, Freakshow, _ringmaster of all reality!_" the anaemic shouted through the screen. "To show off my new found powers, I'm going to need a captive audience, which my ghostly assistant will help me choose. Lydia!"

The red cloaked ghost showed up on the screen, and started to lift her arms. As she did so, I felt movement in the back of my shirt.

"Oh shit," I breathed with wide eyes, clawing at my back. "Shit shit shit!"

A second later, a little green ghost flew out of my collar and flattened over my mouth, making it impossible for me to speak.

"Oh my god, Kira!" Amber shouted.

"What's going on?" a random boy cried.

"Mmh! Mmh!" I mumbled, pulling at the creature.

A gust of wind picked up in the classroom, blowing my uniform like a flag on a pole. Then the metal poles on my desk seemed to come alive, gaining faces like snakes, which wrapped around my waist and pulled me down into my chair. I looked around to see the same happen to my classmates. But then the weirdest part started. The walls started folding up, opening the entire school into a ring, and eventually shifting to a circus top.

My schoolmates' desks circled up like audience chairs, but mine sprouted giant bat wings and started flying in circles around center ring, soon being joined by Danny and Dick's. It was moving so fast I thought I was going to be sick, but then it stopped, and my forehead smacked down hard onto my desktop. I groaned in pain as our desks glided down to three corners of the ring with Freakshow in the center, holding onto a struggling Bruce Wayne's shoulders. He was trapped in his black leather office chair, with his arms tied down to the arm rests.

"Boys, girls, _freaks of all ages_, I welcome you to the main event: the death of Danny Phantom," he said, pointing his gloved hand at Danny. His desk threw him out on the ground in front of him, and a large metal creature formed in front of him out of lockers. Danny looked up in fear and started sprinting around the ring to get away from it, pulling at the tattoo over his mouth.

"Let's not forget his consort, Shadowrule!" he said, pointing at me. My desk threw me out, getting me a faceful of dirt. I looked up just in time to see an ectoball flying at my face. I rolled to the side to avoid it just in time, but it still scorched my hair.

"And one of my newest enemies, the Boy Wonder, Robin!"

Dick was thrown from his seat, and I ran after him, scooping him up before an electronic monster could zap him.

"Last, but most certainly not least, I give you the Dark Knight himself, Batman!" he finished, pushing Bruce forward out of his seat. His eyes widened, and he did his best to act like the clumsy playboy without getting killed.

"Now, time for some interviews! Can we get a few words from Danny Phantom, or rather, Daniel Fenton?" he said, snapping his fingers. In response, the lockers chasing Danny picked him up by the back of his shirt. Arms flailing, he was dropped into Bruce's conference chair. He got latched in, and the tattoo flew off of his face.

"Let us go you fruitloop!" Danny shouted, struggling to get loose.

"How does it feel to realize I'm going to make everyone see you for the _freak_ you are Fenton?" Freakshow said, leaning in close to his face.

I got zapped by Robin's electronic monster and fell to the ground in spasms.

"I am not a freak!" Danny shouted.

"Suit yourself. Ladies second," he said as the electric creature picked me up. Its touch alone sent jolts through my entire body.

I landed in Bruce's chair, breathing heavily, and panting when the tattoo flew off my face. "Frederich Isaak Showenhower, you stop this right now," I admonished, taking my best angry mom tone. "We're humans, and while I respect and understand that you're suffering from ghost envy, this is totally unreasonable."

"Well, I'm sure you won't mind me crushing your ghost boyfriend then," he said as the locker monster pressed down on Danny in an attempt to crush him.

"Jimmy! That's my brother you asshole, stop it!" I pleaded. "I know you've activated the gem of life. Stop before you hit fantasy. It will ruin you."

"So, the eye candy did some research," he said, grabbing uncomfortably hard onto my shoulders. "Well, next testimony."

I was set loose from the chair, and instantly the ectoplasm monster was on me. I ripped my shirt sleeve up to my elbow and threw out my wrist. The wrist ray the Fentons gave me opened, and I shot at the monster with all I had. A few seconds later, it exploded into goo, throwing me into the wall at the outside of the ring.

After blacking out for a short moment, I groaned and got to my feet. Freakshow was in the process of throwing out Dick and grabbing Bruce, who was crying out like a frightened rich boy. _Still playing the game._

Dick was getting ganged up on by two monsters, and Danny was held up with his. They were going to kill him.

_Run._

"Come on man, I'm just a stupid playboy, haven't you read the magazines?" Bruce asked, raising the pitch of his voice.

_Two seconds max. Just two seconds. Need more time._

"You and I both know that isn't true, now let's watch the little bird die."

_Protect, protect, protect,_ I thought, lengthening each stride and kicking up into the air.

"Stop it. Dick, look out!" Bruce cried, fear genuine this time.

_I'm going ghost!_

Rings split out around my waist as I pounced into the air, kicking up to top speed, and grabbing Dick just in time to go intangible. The monsters crashed through us, but I kept my eyes clenched shut. Everything seemed to go quiet, and I finally opened my eyes.

The monsters were standing back, still as statues, and everyone was looking at us. Eyes wide with terror, I slowly picked myself up, looking out at all my schoolmates.

"Finally, I was afraid I was going to have to kill one of you first," Freakshow called.

Shaking, I wrapped my arms around my chest in a self hug, as if that would somehow help. It felt like one of those dreams where you show up to graduation in your underwear. I felt… _naked._

"Kira, Kira, snap out of it!" Dick shouted, shaking my sleeve.

Blinking, I turned around to see the monsters were moving again. Taking a deep breath, I pulled back my hands and thrusted them forward, demolishing the two monsters with fiery red ectoplasm. All that stood in their place was ash.

"You stay away from them," I growled, letting fire flame out of my eyes and fists while my voice took on a demonic echo. "You think you're so powerful? Picking on kids? Picking on a guy who's only ever wanted a family? How sick are you?"

"Lydia, stop her!" Freakshow ordered, his voice shaking.

The tattoos swarmed at me, but waved them off with a full body fire burst, and they went up in flames. Lydia cried out in pain, flying behind Freakshow.

Frantic, he smashed the gems in every different order he could think of. After a walk so painstakingly slow he was shaking in his boots, I grabbed onto the gauntlet.

"Yes, yes, I have it!" he shouted as his body took on a ghostly glow. "That's it! I'm finally ringmaster of all reality!"

"Not so much jerk, I'm holding on, I have half the power," I growled, floating off the ground with him.

"No, no, get off. I have the power!" he shouted, trying to shake his arm. However, as much as he tried to struggle, my enhanced strength stopped him.

"Robin, Phantom, grab on. I need your help," I ordered in a slightly strained voice.

"I know a way to get her off my back," Freakshow muttered. Swinging, he grabbed onto my face with his free hand, forcing me to look into his eyes.

"Let. Go," I ordered through my teeth.

"Tell me child. You control all reality right now. Surely there must be something you want. Something you desire more than anything. Something, or rather, someone, you want to be here right now."

"No, stop it," I said, my voice reverting to normal as I tried to keep my head clear. _Is it getting hot in here?_

"Family? Friends? A lover perhaps?"

"Stop!" I shouted, clenching my eyes shut. _Can't let him bring them here. Can't think about them. Can't._

"Picture them. Their faces, their smell, their touch. You're a long way from home little ghost."

"We're here Kira. Don't listen to him," Danny said, making my eyes snap open.

"You _need _them here."

A weird feeling of electricity spread up my arm and into my core. Golden light clouded my vision, and in an instant, I could see reality bending and pulling. I could see Mom, and Dad, and Braden, and Meg. Meg with her chestnut hair flowing in the breeze, smiling her powerful, yet always small, smile. Then in another instant, I was back at the school, staring at the Reality Gauntlet as energy seeped out of it.

"Kira, Danny, Dick!" Sam yelled, breaking through the wall in Bruce's giant Bat robot. "Think of a place to hide the gems. It's a defense mechanism!"

Closing my eyes after grabbing the gem of life, I pictured Clark Kent's loft in their barn in Smallville. I figured nobody would touch it there.

An explosion of power came from the gauntlet, and I went crashing into the ground. Dazed, I stood up, spinning around. The rings of fire bursted out from my hips, spreading up and down until I was nothing but human.

"KB?"

"Maria Elinor Grant, it can't be," I whispered, stumbling towards her.

"Sweetheart, is it really you?"

"Mom?" I questioned, swiveling to the left. "Dad?"

"Woah, Kira, keep your feet," another voice said, catching me from falling over.

"Brae?" I breathed as a dark halo surrounded my vision.

"Hey, stay awake sis. Wake up!"


	49. Chapter 45

The noise of wind against metal purred in my ears. Voices echoed as if coming through crappy speakers. Light blinded my eyes.

"Shadow? Hey, you awake?"

"What's… what's going on?" I questioned quietly.

"You fainted," Bruce stated.

"Oh, sorry. Why'd…"

"You saw your parents and just dropped," Danny informed.

"Right. Wait, where are they?" I shouted, bouncing up in my seat.

"I'm sorry," Bruce stated.

"No, no, no, don't say sorry. Sorry means… What happened?" I questioned, growing panicked.

"Freakshow sent his assistant after them, Sam, and Tucker. They teleported out before we could stop them," Dick said.

"No, no, no. Meg," I squeaked, grabbing my hair. "This can't be happening. They can't be here. They can't be in danger because of me."

"Hey, hey, calm down," Danny said, shaking my shoulders.

"No, you don't get it. It was supposed to be like the movies. I was supposed to say sorry and have my happy ending. If I had just stayed on my feet, I could have done something. I could have stopped Freakshow. They'd be here!" I shouted, throwing off his hands.

"Shadowrule," Batman snapped, cutting off my ramblings. "You. Can't. Save. Everyone. Get that through your head. That doesn't make you a failure. We all lost today. It just proves we're human."

"Losing isn't supposed to hurt this much," I said, pulling my knees up to my chest. "They're my parents, Bruce. And Meg. And Braden. Braden only ever wanted me to be less angry. That's it. Less fire. And Meg… Meg's my reason for existence. "

"And we'll get them back. I promise," B said. "For now though, the Guys in White are tracking us, and our enemies have death warrants on our heads. We can't go back to Gotham."

"What about Alfred? He can't be safe in the manor. They'll go after him to get to-"

"He's missing too. We don't know if he's gone underground or if Freakshow has him," Dick said solemnly.

"F***," I groaned. "So we don't have any of the resources from the cave or Wayne Industries. How the hell are we supposed to beat any number of baddies and stop Freakshow without even being able to restock batarangs?"

"We'll figure it out," Bruce said.

"I'm going to need to hear plan B."

"I don't have a plan B!" he shouted, slamming his fists down on the controls. We all went quiet. "My backup plans all included laying low in Gotham, and we can't do that while we're hunting a criminal. And the reality warping you and Freakshow caused is making it impossible to contact the Watchtower without the computer in the cave. We're screwed."

_Bruce just cursed. Bruce doesn't curse_.

"Haha, pressure getting to you Bat-Freak?"

My eyes snapped up to the video screen on the plane's dash. Freakshow was hacking our communications. "You shut your f***ing mouth you f***ing cuck," I growled at the screen.

"Shadow!" Dick squeaked.

"Acting quite emotional _ghost_," he said, stating what I am like a curse.

"I'll show you emotion. Tell us where you're hiding so I can come kick your anaemic ass," I threatened.

"What do you want with our friends?" Danny asked, pushing me back into my seat.

"Finally, someone's asking the right questions. Leverage, Phantom. That's what I want them for. And that brings us to my proposal. You bring me my gems, and I'll let you see your friends alive again. I'm sure Mommy and Daddy will be really excited to see you, Kira Danielle. A bit ironic, isn't it?"

I felt my nails digging into my palms. "Is that all?" I hissed through my teeth.

"Of course, there is an added stipulation. Have them to me in three days. And I better not see any other _heroes _interfering," he threatened.

"Where are we supposed to do the drop off?" Batman questioned.

"Oh, don't worry. I'll find you," he said as his face clicked off.

Tense silence fell over the jet as what just happened really set in. We were all angry and frustrated. I wished there was something to punch.

"Hey, Shadow, it's getting hot in here," Dick said, exhaling a breath and wiping his forehead.

"Sorry," I apologized, taking a few deep breaths to lower my temperature. "I'm just… scared, I guess."

"Where did you three hide the gems?" Bruce asked with a sigh.

"We can't just give him what he wants," Robin argued.

"What choice do we have?" Danny said.

"I sent my gem to the Kent Farm in Smallville," I said.

"The Flash Museum. I remembered Barry talking about it," Danny said.

We all looked at Robin. "Ugh, fine. My old trailer at the circus."

"Haley's Circus is in California, so we'll go there last," Bats said.

"We should probably hit Smallville before Central City. They're pretty close, but we could have Mrs. Kent contact Kal for us. Maybe he can get Martian to track where everyone is using telepathy," I suggested.

"Good idea," he said, laying in that flight plan.

"Um, guys?" Danny squeaked. "What's that on the radar?"

"That, that looks like a missile!" Robin shouted.

"D, let's ghost it," I ordered, grabbing the wall and sending intangibility out of my hands.

"Right," he said, joining in and clearing the plane just in time. "Slow down the plane. Shadow and I will go stop them."

"Say hello to misplaced aggression," I said, punching my palm before transforming and flying out.

"Hehehe, Brucie only send out the kids to play?" Penguin squawked, jumping up from his perch on top of a building.

"You know, if you couldn't kill Batman, and you couldn't kill Bruce Wayne, how do you plan to kill them both as the same person?" I questioned, landing in front of him in a fighting stance.

"Well, I may not be able to stop the Bat, but I can definitely cut out his little birds. Ladies!"

The Kabuki twins jumped up the side of the building, blades flickering with a dim green glow. "Oh shit. Danny, stay back!" I ordered as they jumped after us.

Quickly pulling out my bow, I used it to block a downward swipe, but the second slash skimmed my side. "Ah! Oh, that burns," I shouted, flipping backward to get more space.

"Shadow, behind you!" Danny shouted, reluctantly staying on the sidelines.

I turned my head and my eyes widened at the saw coming right at me. Dropping to the ground, I lifted my bow up to just below the head of Penguin's umbrella. Terror rushed through me as I realized the girls were about to strike.

"Stay away from her!" Danny shouted, hitting Penguin into the twins with a staff made of ice.

"Th-thanks," I stuttered, staring up at him.

"Don't mention it," he said, readying himself in one of Robin's stances. "I may have acted like I didn't care, but Bruce and I practiced after you and Robin went to bed."

"So all those times I beat you-" I started, standing up.

"I crossed my feet and you took out the compromised stance," he said, twirling his staff and attacking the standing twin.

"But why?"

"You really don't like me bruising your ego," he grunted.

"Right. Yeah, I can see that," I admitted, joining in to help. "But, you still totally couldn't have beat me."

He _laughed_. "My mom was a ninth degree black belt."

"Dad was a high school wrestler. I get it, I get it. You had better teachers to begin with," I realized.

"Jazz and I had lessons as kids. We were pretty… uh… kickass," he said, blushing in the face.

"Aw, how cute, Dan-Dan's first curse word," I cooed.

"I've… cursed before," he argued.

"Yeah right. Ghost feet!" I shouted, dropping to the ground and turning it intangible. The three villains dropped into the ground and got stuck halfway.

"Gordon and the boys in blue can have fun cutting you out later," Danny said with a satisfied smirk.

"Come on, B's waiting," I said, patting him on the shoulder and floating up.

"Right," he said, flying after me. "Feel better?"

"Never, but at least I won't toast Dick in the Batwing," I responded.

"Good," he mumbled. "You know, I'm scared about Sam and Tucker too."

"I… I know. I'm sorry," I muttered.

"None of this," he said, gesturing around, "has ever been real to you, has it? I know, it doesn't quite seem real to me either, like a dream I can't wake up from. Seeing us get hurt, we're just characters. Getting hurt, it's just a dream, but seeing your friends and family? That's real. Freakshow made it real. That's what he wants, because he thinks it'll make us weaker. But making it real makes real heroes stronger. It makes us stronger."

"I don't feel very strong."

"Aren't you feeling hotter?" he asked.

"Well yeah, but-"

"I'm feeling colder. It's our core. Our obsession. Freakshow doesn't realize it, but by messing with our friends and family, he's actually making us stronger," he said with a grin.

"But, I've never really had an obsession. Just anger augmentation," I insisted.

"You said your greatest fear was losing your family, even though by all accounts it should be the Joker or drowning. Something selfish, and don't you deny it. If it weren't your obsession, the only thing you would fear is your own pain. You would have just picked a dimension and settled down. But we keep going forward, and I go with you because you need someone to guide you, even if you won't admit it."

"Because I'm still a child when it comes to being a ghost, and you're my elder. I'm sorry. I've forgotten that," I apologized.

"It's alright Kira. We're friends. That's what you should remember. Real, living, breathing friends, and as long as you breathe, I will too."

"Thank you," I choked, clinging onto him with a desperate hug. "I promise I will never leave you."

"I know you won't," he stated, flying us into the plane.

"Better?" Bruce stated more than asked.

"Better," we responded.

"Good. I need you two to have clear heads for what I'm going to have you do," he said.

"What's that?" Danny asked.

"Just tell us what needs to be done and we'll do it," I said, leveling Bruce with a stony gaze.

"I need you two to find Freakshow. Robin and I will hunt down the stones, but I don't trust him to keep up his end of the deal. I won't bet lives on it, not Alfred's, not children's, and not your family's," he said.

"Will you and Robin be safe?" I asked.

"We're not safe as long as Freakshow is out there. Stop him so we can go home," Robin cut in.

"Of course," Danny said. "But how do we find him?"

"Work it out. I trust you," Bruce said, ending the conversation.

"Thank you, for everything," I said.

"This isn't goodbye."

"Of course it's not. If it was you might sleep better at night. So I guess, see you later, Dad," I said, jumping out of the plane before he could respond.

"How are we supposed to figure out where Freakshow is?" Danny asked.

"Think over his MO. Use our ghost senses to track his energy pattern. We can find him. And I'm sure it won't take too long."

"He made a mistake, messing with the Bat family."

"That he did bro. That he did."

* * *

"So I know why Shadowrule brought you two here, you're her parents. I know you're her brother, but what's so special about you?"

"I'm the only person she's ever had sex with."

"Maria Grant! You will not talk about my daughter in such a way."

"Oh shut up Mr. Blake. She was perfectly happy before you told her you didn't want her anymore. I'm the only person here who would give my last breath to keep her happy," Meg shouted.

"Hey!" Braden shouted indignantly.

"Well now your last breath will be used to deal Shadowrule her greatest pain. And you two, while not nearly enough to fully exact my revenge on Phantom, you're a start," Freakshow said, turning to Sam and Tucker.

"Danny will take you down again, just like last time," Sam threatened.

"Okay, what the hell is going on here?" the woman asked shrilly. "Who is this Danny or Phantom or whatever? And why do you keep calling my daughter Shadow-something?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Meg hissed.

"No!"

"I think I get it," Brae said. "This is part of a cartoon, right? Danny Phantom is a ghost boy superhero, and I saw Batman too, so… I'm dreaming that Kira has super powers, aren't I? I just miss her so much it's giving me weird dreams, that's it."

"Pinch yourself young Mr. Blake, this is quite real," Alfred said.

"You're Alfred freaking Pennyworth. I can't… this can't be…"

"Calm down Braden. Kira wouldn't want you to be like this. It's been months since she disappeared. We've had friends and family to get comfort from. She's been all alone," Meg said. "Why is she all alone?"

"Vlad Plasmius," Sam spat. "I don't know exactly how it works, but something Vlad did tied her into the dimensions, or something. He told her when she ran off to live in Wisconsin."

"Wait a second, Kira ran off with Vlad Plasmius?" Meg shouted. "I'm going to kill her while I'm hugging her."

"You know who Plasmius is?" Tucker asked.

"Of course," she said. "Who do you think forced her to watch cartoons? Not enough though, apparently. She always did have an obsession with the bad guys."

"Believe me, Miss Grant, if that was the case Miss Blake has taken a complete turn," Alfred assured.

"Did someone say bad guys?"

"Who are you?" Freakshow questioned as Lydia came to his side.

"That's the Joker!" Mr. Blake gasped.

"Ah, so you know me," the pale man cackled.

"Someone mind filling us in?" Tucker questioned, looking around to everyone's fearful faces.

"Clown Prince of Crime," Meg said, locking him with a steely glare.

"And you must be the Bat-brat's lovebird. Light told me all about you," he greeted with a grin.

"Light who?"

"Lights out!" he quipped, tossing a box inside of Meg's cage. With a shout of surprise, she kicked it out and hit the deck before it exploded right outside her train cart.

After a long, spine shivering cackle, he said, "Anyone else have anything to add?"

Everyone but Sam and Tucker seemed to be shaking, and Alfred was reaching into her cage from his own and checking her pulse.

"Is she…"

"She's fine Mrs. Blake, just unconscious from the shock waves," he reported, to which Mrs. Blake burst into relieved tears.

"I want to know what you're doing here," Freakshow said. "This is my circus."

"We're what you would call birds of a feather. I know, I've got my boys out to pluck Robin's. You hate the ghosts, I hate the Bat and his Boy Blunder. Let me help you. All I ask is that I get to kill old Brucie and his crew, and I'll help you end Danny-boy," he proposed.

"Hm, I might be interested. After all, this Bat is an element I didn't plan for. Killing the ghosts will be easy, but…" he trailed off.

"Why does everyone keep calling my daughter a ghost? She's just another normal sixteen year old girl. Not some freak pawn in whatever crazy war you've got going on!"

"Dad! Kira has never been normal, now shut up before they hurt us!" Braden shouted.

"This is all my fault. I shouldn't have yelled at her…" Mrs. Blake trailed off.

"This is your first hostage situation, isn't it?" Tucker deadpanned.

"Quiet!" Freakshow ordered. "Any chaos to happen at my circus will be caused. By. Me! Lydia, watch over hostages while I go talk with our guest in private." And at that, he stomped off to an enclosed train cart, Joker trailing behind him.

"You know, If Joker gets his way there's no way any of us are getting out of here alive," Braden said.

"I'm afraid Mister Blake may be right," Alfred said, staring at Meg's limp body with concern.


	50. Chapter 46

"So, how are we supposed to do this?" Danny asked.

"Well, since we've narrowed his location down to probably somewhere with a railroad, I think if we focus our energy into the track, we might be able to sense the ghost energy on the train cars," I re explained very slowly. "All we have to do is touch the rail and meditate on our ghost senses."

"And we'll be able to see _everything_ on the track," he said.

"Anything that's been exposed to ectoplasm, I hope. So just sit down, grab the rail with your dominant hand, grab my hand with your other," I said awkwardly.

"Alright," he agreed as we both sat down cross legged. "So, uh, holding hands."

"Please Danny, I'm gay, it can't be that awkward," I snapped, snatching his hand. "Now close your eyes. Breathe in, and out. In, and out. Focus on threads of energy connecting us."

"What threads?"

"Just think of every time you have your ghost sense go off. It may feel almost natural after having it happen so many times, but it'll never be quite normal. Feel that abnormal pull to me."

"I… I think I see it now. But how do I expand it?"

"Picture you're walking down the track. You go north, I'll go south. Squeeze my hand and say my name if you find it," I said, sending off my mental projection.

"Okay."

* * *

"Hey Bruce, I found it!" Dick shouted, climbing out of a stack of loose hay with a gem in hand. "Ow! Hey, that's hot!"

The gem fell and fell before finally landing in the exhaust pipe of the Kent's old red tractor. A ghostly glow radiated from the farm equipment before it seemed to sprout a face and come to life. "Uh-oh."

"Robin, get back!" Batman ordered, running with his grappling hook at the ready. Swinging the rope around in his hand, he waited for the machine to come charging at him. Then, at the last second, he dodged it like a bull and latched his cable around the steering wheel like a lasso. The sudden pull once the rope lost its slack made his shoulder pop out of its socket, but he held on anyway with grinding teeth, and took a sharp pull to throw himself up onto the tractor. Once there, he road it like a bull, wincing when a throw pulled on his right arm. "Distraction maneuver D-8."

"On it," Robin shouted, jumping into action. "Hey ugly! Look over here!"

The monster machine turned to face Robin and charged after him. Batman sighed in relief as Robin dodged left, making the tractor pull on his left arm rather than his right. Pulling back his focus, he climbed further up and latched on to the pipe. Wrapping his legs around it, he took it in a death grip with his left arm, and used his weaker right arm to pull out his laser pen. "Just keep it distracted for a little bit longer!" he ordered.

"I don't know how long I can keep this up!"

"Come on, come on, cut already," Batman muttered, trying his hardest to cut through the metal with a shaking hand. "Damn my stupid shoulder!"

Finally the top of the pole snapped off and he reached in to pull out the crystal. Sliding off the now inanimate machine, he stuffed the gem inside of his thermos. "That should keep it from reactivating."

"You really need to stop hanging out with Shadow so much. Alfred will be really mad if he catches you cursing like that," Robin said.

"Thanks for the thought," he answered, ruffling his hair as he walked past him.

"Is that gem thing out of there now?" an old man asked, ducking his head into the barn.

"Yes Mr. Kent. You wouldn't know how to fix a dislocated shoulder, would you?" Batman asked.

"Martha will know how. I've hurt myself enough times over the years…"

* * *

"Hey puddin', how are we gonna stop Batsy?" Harley asked.

"You aren't," Meg piped up, still holding her throbbing head. "The Dynamic Duo and the Phantoms are going to kick your asses and save us, just like they always do. Now can you quiet down? Your damn boyfriend gave me a concussion and your high pitched voice isn't helping."

"Meggy-"

"It's Meg."

"Meggy, I'll say this once and once only. Nobody. Sass-talks. My. PUDDIN'!"

Meg gripped fiercely onto her ears and groaned out in pain before turning venomous. "And I'll say this only once! If your stupid, pasty-faced, totally not-funny boyfriend even so much as touches me, Kira will obliterate him. Maybe she'll let you off, but I don't know. After all, she doesn't like blondes, or weakness."

"Miss Grant, I think it best if you bit your tongue for the time being," Alfred warned.

"Well kid, you sure do have moxy. I hate moxy," Joker growled.

"Leave her alone. She's just scared. Why can't you pick on someone your own size?" Tucker stated.

"You mean like you, small stuff?"

"Uh, no, like, um, Sam, help!"

"Tucker!" she shouted, punching him in the arm. "Are you nuts?"

"Hehe, sorry."

"My apologies, my best friend is an idiot," Sam proclaimed.

"My poor little Kira, she's probably so scared. She never was good with pressure, or social situations. Always hiding in her comic books," Mrs. Blake muttered.

"Are we talking about the same Kira Blake?" Sam asked. "She beat the snot out of Dash Baxter on her first day of school."

"And she seems rather quick to make friends to me. As a matter of fact, she often comes back to the manor twittering about what fun she and Miss Brown have at school," Alfred added.

"Yeah Mom, Kira just hates the kids at school. Her, Ben, and Meg get on just fine. You should have listened her freshman year when she asked you to transfer her. Though of course, then her and Meg wouldn't have happened," Braden said.

"We should have transferred her," Mr. Blake muttered.

"Excuse me sir," Alfred snapped, rounding on him. "I understand you may have a problem with your daughter's lifestyle, but you will not speak so rudely of Miss Kira in my presence. Why I'd have half a mind to throw fists with you myself if you weren't the miss's father."

"I'm rooting for team Alfred," Braden piped up.

"Team Alfred," Sam agreed.

"Rock on Team Alfred," Tucker added.

"I have to agree with the children. You shouldn't be so harsh on her. I shouldn't have been so harsh on her."

"Well duh," Tucker said.

"Excuse me?"

"Ugh, don't you remember anything about being a teenager?" Sam piped up. "All teenagers ever want is to fit in and be accepted for who we are. Kira's terrified that you won't want her when she gets home. I'm a goth and an ultra recyclo vegetarian and my parents are pink loving millionaire conformists. I get it."

"You two must be wonderful friends," Mrs. Blake whispered.

"I… uh, yeah, about that… I thought her and Danny had a thing, so I guess I was a bit… territorial. I guess I don't really have to worry about that anymore."

"Really Sam? How did gay-dar not go off for her? She's so gay she can't even think straight. There had to have been times you questioned her. Caught her staring at girls as they walked by, blushing and looking away, muttering about supermodels," Meg stated.

"Now that you mention it, that makes so much sense. How else could she resist my charm?" Tucker said triumphantly.

"Really?" Sam, Brae, and Meg groaned in unison.

"What?"

* * *

"I think I see something," Danny said, gripping my hand.

"Let me join you," I whispered, searching for his energy.

"Shadow, that feels kind of… WEIRD!"

"AH!" I shouted, grabbing onto Danny as we tumbled through some strange green void. After a few seconds, we were thrown out into the open sky, falling.

"Come on, come on, come on, I'M GOING GHOST!" Danny shouted as rings of white spread out from his waist.

"I can't fly!" I shouted in panic, flailing my arms.

"I've got you," Danny said, catching me bridal style.

"Uh, sorry," I said, blushing from embarrassment. "My um… my core went a bit cold."

"Mine went a bit warm. It felt… kind of nice."

"Well then, you're welcome. Um, can you put me down please? This is a bit undignified," I asked.

"Yeah, right," he said, putting me down on solidish ground. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. So, where are we?" I asked, looking at the sand.

"Um, according to that sign, Nevada," he said, pointing behind me.

"What?" I screeched, turning around. "How the hell did we end up in Nevada?"

"Hey, hey, calm down. I think somehow when you combined our energies, we kind of… teleported."

"But I can't do teleportation. Vlad tried teaching me but, he said it was useless, that I was incompatible or something."

"Well, maybe you are, but when we put our powers together…"

"We can do anything," I said with a smile. "I guess we better get to work then, mastering this together."

* * *

"Alright now you might want to bite down on something. I don't want you biting off your tongue."

"Please, just do it already," Batman grunted, sweating and shaking as Mrs. Kent held out his right arm.

"It really must hurt if you're asking nicely," Robin piped up.

"I just got beat up by a tractor," he said with a glare.

"Why did you try to rope a giant metal machine?" Mr. Kent asked.

"I didn't think it would be so fast."

"Son, you've never seen a real tractor before, have you?"

"I… prefer the comfort of cement," Batman answered before giving out a slight shout as Mrs. Kent moved his arm a little bit.

"Okay, I'm ready," she said.

"Alright, bite this," Mr. Kent ordered, holding a white rag out in front of Batman's face. After a moment's hesitation, he did as he was asked.

"On the count of five. Five, four, three!"

He would have screamed if the rag wasn't blocking his mouth. Clenching his jaw and his eyes shut, he let out a few unsteady breaths until he could control himself again. Spitting out the rag, he said, "I thought you said on the count of five?"

"I find it tends to end better with you men if you don't have warning," she said, heading to the fridge and grabbing an ice pack. "Here, hold this on your shoulder and don't push it too hard for a few days."

"Thank you Mrs. Kent. Would you mind sending Clark a message for us?"

"Not at all. What do you want me to tell him?"

"Tell him I need Martian to search for the Blake family, but that none of the other heroes can confront Freakshow."

"Of course," she said. "Now don't just ignore what I said about that shoulder, or I'll personally come after you and dislocate it myself."

Impossibly, Batman paled. "Yes ma'am," he gulped.

Robin laughed all the way to the Batwing.

* * *

"I do hope Master Bruce is alright," Alfred whispered, looking to the top of his cage.

"What's wrong Mr. Pennyworth?" Braden asked.

"Oh, just an old man's senses. I feel as though something is wrong," the butler said, looking over to the teen. "And please, you may call me Alfred."

"Of course Alfred. I'm sure he's fine. He is Batman after all. He wouldn't die while you're still in danger," he assured with a light smile.

"You really are an amazing young man. I'm sure Kira is proud to share relation with you," Alfred said.

"Well, at least I know Danny's alright," Sam said with a smile.

"How do you know that?" Tucker asked.

"I just, know. Wherever he is right now, he's happy," she said.

"I think I can explain that," Meg piped up. "When the concept of your character was being drawn, you were supposed to be a telepath to Danny. I don't know what came first, the story or the dimension, but maybe something bled over or they were on to something."

"That's… an interesting idea," she said. "I have to think about that."

"Of course," Meg said. "Although, it could just be because you love him. They say you're always more tied to people you love."

"Do you feel it with Shadow?"

"We haven't used the L word yet, but, yeah, I think I do."


	51. Chapter 47

"Hm, New York. I guess that's closer than Ohio," I sighed.

"We've almost got it Kira. I'm sure we can get it before sundown," Danny said with a smile.

"Let's hope. I don't want my family around that freak any longer than they have to be," I said, taking his hand again.

"They'll be fine, I promise," he said. "Now, picture the tracks, the smell of the Gotham River, as gross as it is. We can do this."

"I know we can."

All at once, we were thrown back into the void.

* * *

"Act normal Dick. This place is too public to be seen walking around in," Bruce said, pulling his shades up over his eyes.

"Do you really think this is going to work?" Dick asked, tugging uncomfortably at the collar of his red Flash T-shirt.

"Of course. Nobody is going to question a set of tourists," he said, pretending to analyze a display on Captain Cold.

"Um, someone might have another idea…" Dick said, motioning over to a set of reporters bursting through the door and pulling down his baseball cap.

"I don't think they're here for us. Look over there."

"Barry?"

"Barry Allen has never missed the opening of a new exhibit. His ego wouldn't allow it. Want to figure out what's new?"

"Shouldn't we be staying away from cameras?"

"Hide in plain sight Dick," Bruce insisted. "Come on."

"We're dead," he muttered, stuffing a sucker in his mouth and trotting off after him.

* * *

"Ugh, bored," Braden groaned, kicking the bars of his cage.

"Can I get a sandwich? I'm starving," Tucker piped up.

"I have to pee," Meg whined.

"Don't you have some books we can read to pass the time?" Sam complained.

"Hush, we don't need to get their attention," Mrs. Blake insisted.

"Honey, we already have their attention. We're the only ones here. Who cares? The kids have very practical grievances," Mr. Blake said.

"What are you all whining about?" Freakshow questioned, walking out of his train car with a glare.

"Occupation, restrooms, and food, though not necessarily in that order," Alfred said. "I've helped raise enough teenagers in my time to know that things will not end well if those three items aren't supplied."

"Can't you, I don't know, use a can or something?"

"We're girls!" Sam and Meg yelled in outraged unison.

"Well, of course, yes. Um… Miss Quinn!"

"Yeah Freaky?" she asked, popping her head out of the train car Freakshow came from.

"Could you escort our female guests to the bathroom?"

"On it Freaky-Boss!" she said with a smile.

"And Harley?"

"Yeah?"

"Take Miss Manson first," he ordered.

"Ugh, jerk," Meg muttered.

* * *

"Alright! We finally got it!" Danny cheered.

"Yes!" I shouted, squeezing him in a hug. "Gotham."

"Now, just one more time. I think I saw the train thirty miles up the track. Do you think we can make it?"

"I know we can. Just, let me sit down a bit. If we're going to land in a firefight, I can't be caught dealing with a frozen core," I said, settling down on the ground.

"You want something to eat?" Danny asked, pulling out his ration packs from his belt.

"Thanks," I said, taking the pieces of flatbread from him. "You think they're safe, don't you?"

"Well, I don't know about you, but with Sam around, the only one taking a beating is Freakshow," he said.

"God, if we get there and find out Sam, Meg, and Alfred went black ops commando on him," I joked.

"Hey," he said with a laugh, "you know they would."

"I wish," I said, and comfortable silence slipped over us.

After a moment, Danny started fidgeting before saying, "Am I a monster if I wish my family were here too?"

"No. No D, I don't think you are," I said, shooting him a smile. "My parents never really wanted me enough for me to be that hurt by them being gone, but… your mom and dad are probably the nicest people I've ever met. Like genuinely wonderful. It hurts being away from something that good."

"Do you ever just wake up…"

"And think I'm lying in bed at home? That Ma will call me downstairs for breakfast at any moment?"

"Yeah. Yeah that's it."

"Every morning," I said, taking his hand with a sad smile.

"Thanks. That… that makes me feel better."

"It's good to feel normal every rare once in awhile," I said with a laugh.

"As normal as we get."

* * *

"On loan from the Central City Police Department, we have the Mirror Master's actual mirror gun to show you all a demonstration. You see, this interesting piece of technology can actually…"

"Been on the receiving end of that. Didn't like it," Bruce muttered.

"Hey, Big B, is that you?"

"Barry," Bruce greeted.

"What are you… How did that circus guy out you?" he asked, trying to settle on just one question. Iris kept telling him he talked too much.

"A special relic from Danny's home. It makes some… crazy stuff happen. We broke it apart into pieces. One of them ended up here. We need to collect it," he explained, trying to make it sound indescript for anyone who may be listening in.

"What does it look like?"

"Blue, circular crystal."

"Crystal, Mirror Master, of course," he said, slapping his forehead.

"Remind you of our first mission?"

"Hmph, yeah, sure. We really did lay down the beating on him. You need any help with Freak Guy?"

"You can't. It's a hostage situation. Nobody else can get involved," he insisted.

"Who's the hostage?"

"The _hostages_ are some of Kira's relatives, two of Danny's friends, and Alfred. He's threatened to kill them if we don't get back the pieces to his artefact."

"And you're just giving him what he wants?" Barry hissed a bit too loud.

"Shh," Bruce growled, pulling Barry's ear next to his mouth. "I've got the Phantoms searching for the hostages while we keep this guy satisfied by searching for the gems. He only gave us three days."

"Alright. If I can't help with the hostages, I bet he won't mind if I give you a hand with the gem search," he said, shooting Bruce a smile before sneaking out of the crowd.

"What's he doing?" Dick asked.

"Trying to help," Bruce sighed, continuing his search.

"Gorgeous ladies and wonderful gentlemen!"

"Oh great," Bruce muttered.

"Look, the Flash!"

"Yeah yeah, it's me. I'm sorry to say this, but this show has to be cut short. I need to talk to the museum personnel. A situation has begun that could possibly be dangerous," he announced.

"Flash, what's going on?" the exhibit director asked.

"I'm looking for something. A gem, blue and circular," he said, marching through the crowd that parted like water.

"Why do you need something like that?" the man asked skeptically.

"It's a matter of life or death," Bruce said, stepping out of the crowd and pulling off his sunglasses.

"Oh my gosh, that's Bruce Wayne!"

"Haven't you seen the news? That's Batman!"

"Over half a dozen people are in danger of being killed right now, the majority of those being innocent kids," Dick said, stepping out beside Bruce. "We need to find this gem."

"Um, let me look through my pieces," the man gulped, turning to a box behind him.

"Wow, it's really Batman," some teenager in a poorly made Reverse Flash costume gasped.

"There's no way, this has to be a show or something," another dressed as the Pied Piper argued.

"I'm with Mikey on this one," a girl dressed up in a female Shade costume agreed.

"Is this what you're- Ow!" the man shouted, tossing up the stone.

"I've got it!" one of the kids shouted, hopping up after it.

"No, wait!" Bruce shouted, trying to get it first.

The kid caught it just in time and it glowed a ghostly blue before burning him too. "Ouch!" he shouted, fumbling it until the other boy caught it, who repeated the same until the girl caught it and it flashed a blinding white. Bruce, Dick, and Flash got thrown back by the shock wave of whatever was happening, and the light cleared.

"Uh-oh. You could have mentioned that Bats," Flash said, zipping up to his feet and staring at the newly transformed villains.

"I didn't know," he said, scrambling out of the way as the mini-Shade slammed down her cane to where his head was half a second before. Taking a second look, he realized that the jewel on the top of the cane was the reality gem.

"Take out the Shade first if you can," Bruce ordered, jumping to his feet and preparing to fight.

* * *

"Okay, I'm ready," Danny said.

"Alright, countdown," I said.

"Three," we said together. "Two… One!"

I held on tightly to Danny's arms as our bodies dissolved into mist. After nearly two dozen times visiting this new plain, we were fairly used to its dizzying effects. "This way," Danny said, tugging me towards a black figure. "Ready for the drop in three, two, one."

Splashing back to reality, we were able to keep our footing, but just barely.

"Danny?"

"Sam!" he cried, running to the barred train car she was being held in. "I'll get you out of there."

"Phantom, stay focused," I said, glancing around warily. "Where's Meg?"

"Lydia, we have intruders!" Freakshow shouted, stepping out from behind one of the train cars. "_What_ are you doing here?"

"I believe we're holding a search and rescue, and since you have no power, I'm not too damn worried about punching out your God damned teeth," I growled, readying my bow and taking a stronger stance.

"Not so fast Casper."

I felt my shoulders tense at his voice. My eyes widened and my hands started to shake. "No," I breathed, spinning around to face him.

"Put down the Robin Hood stuff or Maid Marian gets it."

"No, no, no, this can't be happening. Meg?" I muttered, slowly lowering my bow to the ground. All I could see was the gun on her head.

"This is what I get for asking to go to the bathroom," she grumbled.

My hand shot up to cover the choked laugh I accidentally slipped. Joker seemed confused for a second, but then his smile grew wider. "Oh, she really _is_ that Meg. Your serious half painted a lovely description."

"Leave her alone Joker," I ordered, steeling myself and squaring my shoulders.

His head shot back in laughter as my fists shook with fear. "A little Bat at heart, hm? Or is it a clown, just waiting to break free…"

"Shut up," I growled.

"What's he talking about?" Mom whispered, her voice cutting through the silence.

"OOoh, of course, they don't know, do they? How much you take after your pa?" he said, sounding somehow more menacing than usual.

"You are not my 'pa'," I deadpanned.

"Why don't you prove that to them. Show them your true face."

"Don't listen to him Kira," Danny said.

"He's trying to take control."

"He already has control Alfred," I said, pulling down my hood and tearing off my mask.

"Now, didn't your momma ever teach you the dangers of puttin' on too much makeup?" Harley chimed, skipping up next to me. "Hand over the belt Blakey."

Glaring, I clicked it off and held it out to her. "Remember, those pouches are charged with enough electricity to fry eggs," I threatened. After she took it, I shot a nervous look at my father before turning back to the problem in front of me. Taking a deep breath, I focused in on my center and let my core leak out, rippling fire across my skin. After a moment, I forced my fire back into its position in my chest. All the pigment was gone, across my face, across my hair, and in my eyes. All that was left was a reflection of the man standing in front of me. "Happy?"

"Oh my God, my baby!"

I visibly winced at the pained tone in her voice, and Joker started laughing.

"What the hell did you do to her you freak?" Dad shouted. That somehow managed to hurt worse.

"Does this mean you're chemical proof now?" Brae asked, getting glares from our parents. "What?"

"One bad day, isn't that right?" I stated quietly, my voice cutting through their outrage like a knife.

"A chip off the old block, if I do say so myself. Now, isn't it about time we finish this?" Joker said, cranking back the hammer on his revolver.

"No!" I shouted, taking a step forward.

"Nu-uh-uh, some side affects of you coming closer may include for this lucky girl difficulty breathing and LIGHTHEADEDNESS," he threatened. Pulling my hand to my chest and taking a step back, he continued. "Make sure you've dropped all your little toys. I know you bats, the laser on the arm, the lockpick in the boot, the batsnacks in the jacket pocket, all of it."

"It's not batsnacks, it's a Crunch bar," I muttered, removing all of said weapons.

"Seriously?" Meg questioned.

"Higher metabolism," I sighed like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You too Phanboy," he ordered, looking at Danny.

Sighing in frustration, Danny just threw off his belt. It was all he really carried. With another bone chilling chuckle, Joker shoved Meg my way, making me stumble as she fell into my arms.

"Oh God Shadow, I missed you," she mumbled, righting herself before grabbing my head and pushing her lips against mine. After a moment of shock, I kissed her back, albite tense and short. When I looked up, I saw Joker pointing his gun at Meg's back. The first click, the BANG flag came out. My eyes widened as his smile grew. Having no better ideas, I phased through Meg's chest just as he pulled the trigger for its second time.

...

I couldn't breathe. My eyes twitched down to my chest, seeing the flag sticking out, somehow penetrating my armour. Orange blood spread out around the dart, and my legs gave out from under me. Meg screamed, and I heard another shot ring out before I felt my core cracking. Making one last conscious gesture before my power took over, I shot Meg with a blue ectoblast to push her back.

Then the fire consumed me.


	52. Chapter 48

"I've got it!" Dick called, tackling the junior Shade. In an instant, he was knocked back and being pummeled by a yellow blur.

Bruce shoulder chucked the mini Reverse Flash away from Dick. Realizing his mistake, he winced and grabbing the offended arm. "You alright?" he asked, catching Dick before he lost his footing.

"I'm fine. Are you?" he said, resettling his feet.

"I'll be- ah!"

The Reverse Flash had Bruce across the room and on the ground in a millisecond, his right arm pinned painfully behind his back as the kid punched his side.

A bit further away, the Flash was struggling to stop the little Pied Piper from destroying his eardrums, though based off of the blood streaming from his nose, he wasn't doing too well. "How am I supposed to fight him if I can't hurt him?" Flash shouted, trying to stay on his feet.

Dick jumped after the Shade, but ended up with a face full of smoke for his troubles.

Bruce wrapped his leg around the yellow speedster's and flipped to his side. Using his free hand, he grabbed up at the kid and pulled, flipping him over and forcing him to let go of his arm. "Get the gem away from them!" Bruce ordered, pinning the boy to the ground.

The Pied Piper ended up with a bird-a-rang to the hand as Robin jumped up out of the black cloud. This freed Flash up just enough to speed off and steal the stone from the Shade's staff. Once it broke away, the teens started reverting to normal. Bruce let out a sigh of relief and let himself fall flat against the floor, grabbing his shoulder.

"I believe this is yours," Flash said, tossing Bruce the gem. In one smooth move, he caught it and slipped it into his belt. "You need some help up?"

"Give me a minute."

"That lack of sleep catching up to you?" he asked.

"You have no idea. I haven't slept since Freakshow showed up," Bruce muttered.

"Hey, if you want to sleep for the night, you can always stay with me and Iris," Flash offered.

"We can't. We've got to get to California, find the last gem, and make it back to Gotham in… 38 hours," he said, taking Flash's hand to stand up.

Dick walked up, yawning the whole way. "Alright boss," he said tiredly, "let's go."

Flash gave Bruce a rare serious look, and Bruce turned a concerned eye back on Dick. His face faltered as he took in his son's disheveled form. "Alright, six hours, that's it."

Flash's eyes widened. "I just changed Batman's mind?"

"Shut up Barry."

* * *

Meg's eyes widened as she watched the scene before her. Pain throbbed from where Shadow had just shot her, but she couldn't even mistake it for betrayal when her girlfriend burst into flames, screaming in spine chilling agony. There was nothing Meg could do to help her. And for being the one who normally has her head on her shoulders, she was completely out of her element here.

Ten feet away, the ground was freezing around Danny Phantom. _The _Danny Phantom. How was she keeping her cool again? Right, right, girlfriend on fire. Um… Stop drop and roll? No…

"Those darts are loaded with blood blossom, my own design," Freakshow said, taking the stage. "Given to a real ghost, it would kill it, but I suspect it may just exhausted these two from their cores. Of course, I don't know how well frost and fire resistance are tied to biology, so they may just kill themselves."

He said that with a smirk, a smirk that tore Meg up inside. He didn't care.

"You bastard!" she shouted, seeing red as she rushed towards him with raised fists.

Lydia blocked her path, sending enough tattoos her way to hold her back. "You f***ing asshole! If she dies I swear to God I'll kill you myself in the slowest, most painful way possible," Meg threatened.

"You hear that Bat-brat?" Joker asked, making Meg turn back to see him walking up to Kira's form, shaking in the fetal position with only a few wisps of fire still rising off her body. "Quite a mouth she's got on her," he finished before sending a swift kick to her back. She cried out before biting back over-excentric cartoon tears.

Meg sobered and started shaking, feeling totally helpless. This was her fault. She should have done something. She should have… no no, bad Meg, you're not being rational. As her dad always said, she was thinking with the wrong head, though it never really made that much sense since she was a girl…

"Please, let me go so I can check their vitals. I had to take an emergency medical course for school," Meg asked, taking a deep breath.

"Hm, I suppose. Not much you can do to escape," Freakshow said. "Lydia?"

With a nod, the ghost pulled up her hood and the tattoos flew back to her. Rushing over, Meg tested to see if the heat had dissipated from Shadow's body before checking her pulse. "A bit fast," she muttered, then put a cheek to her girlfriend's forehead. "Too hot. Skin's fragile. Minor burns." Putting a hand by her mouth and nose, she added, "Irregular breathing." Taking a quick look at her eyes, she finished, "Pupils dilating mostly normally."

After that, she moved on to Danny. "Definitely too cool. Hands and limbs are cold. Early signs of hypothermia. Breathing seems fine. Dilation is fine."

"That would match their regular behaviours. Kira tends to breathe less purely for the point of finding it unnecessary, Danny acts more human," Alfred commented. "I assume you're going to take them captive as well. May I at least assist in their movement to keep them from further injury?"

"Who cares about further injury?" Joker questioned, kicking Shadow again and causing her to flinch violently away.

"Now Joker, how would we have our big performance if they're withering husks?" Freakshow tempted.

"Hmph, no fun at all, but I'll play, for now," he responded, going a bit too dark at the end. "Harley!"

"On it Mr. J," she said, rushing over to open the train car Alfred was standing in. "Now no funny business old man."

"With all due respect Miss Quinn, I'm not the one wearing a jester's outfit," he responded in his traditional British snark.

Ignoring her shocked and annoyed look, he rushed past her towards his charges. "Oh good heavens Kira," he gasped, giving her a look over. "Miss Grant, could you give me a hand? It would appear that the burns only cover where the fire was exposed to oxygen."

"You mean her resistance kicked off sometime after the fire lost its ectoplasmic properties?" Meg asked, doing as he asked.

"You are as intelligent as Kira says. Alright, on the count of three. One, two, three," he stated as they hefted up the barely conscious girl.

* * *

I couldn't move. Everything hurt. It wasn't as bad as the chemical pool, but it felt… weirdly different. Too… human. It felt like putting your hand on the stove, but all over my body. Once the excruciating pain of being burned alive calmed down, it was like having a really, really bad sunburn.

Then I heard Joker's taunt and felt the sharp kick to my back. I let out a quick cry of pain, but cut it short when I heard a loud sob from Mom.

"_Don't ever let them see you cry sweetheart. You're better than them, and don't let them think anything else." _

Mom always had the best advice. I couldn't let her down now, could I?

Then I felt something soft pressed against my forehead. Hm, strawberries. I'm not complaining. A little after that, I felt two pairs of hands picking me up. I groaned a bit and cracked my eyes open. "Alfred?" I rasped, my throat completely dry.

"Sh, just stay calm Miss Blake," he hushed.

"Shoulda wore sunblock to the beach, eh? Is there still a flag in my chest?"

"Yeah Shad, there is," Meg added.

"Good, good. Can I break the rule now? In case I die?"

"No, because you aren't going to die, more than half anyway," she said.

"Alright, I won't. But, you still smell like strawberries."

"Just for you."

Alfred's eyes widened in recognition, but he said nothing. "Save your energy Kira."

"I'll be fine in the morning. Cartoon tropes and what have you," I sighed, closing my eyes.

Bruce better get here quick.

* * *

"Thank you for letting us stay here," Bruce said, blinking the focus back into his vision. Dick fell asleep on the way there and Bruce ended up carrying him into Barry's small house, much to the protest of his already exhausted muscles.

"It's our pleasure to help out other good guys in need," Iris said with a smile.

"Do you need help with him?" Barry asked, pointing at Dick.

"No, he's not that heavy," he lied. "So, I'm not exactly used to…"

"Needing help? Just roll with the punches Bats, you'll figure it out," Barry finished with a smirk. "You can lay Rob over here on the couch. We've got a guest room you're free to stay in. Have you heard from KB and Danny-boy?"

"No. They haven't checked in in a while. I'm starting to get worried," Bruce sighed, setting Dick down and unfolding a blanket for him.

"Separation anxiety?" Barry asked, earning a glare. "Don't worry Bruce, those kids are smart, and Danny's faced this guy before, right? I'm sure they'll be fine."

"They've never been under this much stress to get things right before. There's no net. And Kira was having one of her moments where she knows too much. This is an episode for her, albite different than the original. She may get too comfortable."

"And make a mistake."

"Yeah. I shouldn't worry. It's stupid," Bruce muttered, running a hand through his hair.

Barry's hand settled onto Bruce's shoulder in a show of support. "You're tired, you're under a lot of stress, and you're far away from home. You're losing control of your emotions. I know this isn't your comfort zone, but calm down and just trust."

"I hate it when you're right."

"More or less than when Clark is right?"

"Too far Flash."

* * *

"Ugh, what's taking Bruce so long?" I questioned, trying to blow away a drip of water rolling down my face. The wet rags were pulling the heat out, and with my secondary mutation, I was healing rather quickly. Of course, Danny was without this, but their treatment for him was having him set up in my toasted jacket for a while. It was too hot for me anyway, especially with leather pants.

And then there was that. I felt _hot_. And then when a breeze gusted up, I could feel the cold. Normally I was just numbly comfortable. Then there was breathing. Humans need to breathe way too much, I've decided it. I felt like I was going to pass out constantly.

Finally, my senses were so _dull_. How do people hear anything with these ears? I mean, the dulled sense of smell was great in Gotham, but I felt _blind_. Like I couldn't process things fast enough.

"Honey, please talk to me."

"I'm a freak. You didn't want a freak for a daughter, remember?" I said, keeping my back to her.

"I'm sorry hun," she whispered.

"That was different Kira."

"Yeah, it was a much less serious offense, eh Luke?" I said, turning only enough to send Dad a bat-glare.

"I'm your father!"

"Actually, I believe your exact words were 'no daughter of mine is going to be a faggot' followed by 'get the hell out of my house.' I'm not your daughter, ergo you're not my father!" I shouted, jumping to my feet and facing him.

"Miss Blake, you can't move so much," Alfred fussed.

"No, it's about time I quit playing myself. I thought that you were all I could ever have, but you're not! What's the point in wasting my time wanting you if you don't. Want. Me!" I shouted.

"Kira, please-"

"I turned sixteen without you. I've gone to school without you. I faced my worst fears without you. I _died _without you, because of you. Why would I even _need _you anymore?"

"Reminds me of home," Freakshow said, breaking the silence that had fallen over us. "Of course, if you're feeling well enough for a shouting match, I'm sure you're well enough to entertain my partners."

He gestured back to Joker and Harley, a crowbar and mallet in hand. I could have handled the clowns, but at the sight of the crowbar… Goosebumps ran down my back as I backed up as far as I could to get away from them, but the bars stopped me. "I'm… I'm not Jason Todd. This can't be happening. I'm too human. Too freaking human for this," I breathed.

"Stay away from her," Meg ordered, realizing the danger and standing in front of me.

"Oh no," Brae gasped.

"What's going on?" Danny groaned, rubbing his head.

Harley threw open the door and started towards me. I suddenly felt naked without my mask to hide the fear I knew would be showing in my eyes. Meg tried stepping in her way, but I knew the dangers. I pushed her to the side. I wasn't going to lose her.

"Kira, no," she ordered.

"Powers or no, I'm a lot more resilient than you Meg. And I won't let anything happen to you. I can't. So just stay calm, don't cry out, and for the love God, forget you care about me until it's over. Please," I ordered, turning back to Harley.

"Come on Blakey, time for your play date," she chimed, grabbing me by the hair and roughly pulling me towards the door.

_Damn my genetically improbable shortness, _I thought, clenching my eyes shut as she threw me to the ground. With a groan, I looked back up at the pair, just in time to see the crowbar coming towards me. I tried to roll away, but it still caught me in the side.

_Shit that hurt. God damned that hurt. That's not supposed to hurt that much. _I shakily pushed myself up on my hands, trying to ignore it.

"_You can't rely on your powers so much Shadow."_

"Anything you say B," I mumbled, jumping up just in time to avoid another hit. "Just gotta stay alive until the dynamic duo saves the day."

"Batsy better get here quick then!" Joker laughed, swinging crossways and missing me by an inch.

_Adrenaline higher than usual_, I thought. _Can't lose focus because of it. _"Good thing I'm game the- Ow!" I cried, getting a mallet hit to the spine.

"Kira, no!"

"Mommy dearest seems to be a little worried. Of course, there's nothing for her to worry about, right Casper?" Joker taunted, catching me when I fell into him and pulling the crowbar around my neck. I clawed at it as I started choking. "Nothing to worry about, right?"

"No, no," I choked, shaking my head in hopes he'd let go.

"I'm your new dad, aren't I Casper? Say it!"

"No, no, Bats-"

"He isn't here, is he. You're going to die again and he's not going to be here."

"He's… coming!" I choked, sidestepping and going for a low blow by swinging back my fist. Bruce wouldn't necessarily approve, but it got him off of me.

"Harley! Time for a spanking!" he called out from the ground.

Next thing I knew, her mallet was coming right at me.


	53. Chapter 49

**Hey guys! I'm back, and I have a huge chapter to show for it. Been really busy with school. It's my senior year after all :) Though it's spring break, and my birthday. Yay! I'm an adult now! With adultly issues... And college in the fall... Yeah, I'm not gonna have too much time coming up. I'll try to keep updating though.**

"Alright, wake up Bruce!" Barry called, flinging open the door. "Iris made pancakes, I hope that doesn't mess with your ninja diet or whatever."

"I don't have a ninja diet, Barry," he groaned, sitting up.

Barry burst into a laughing fit at the sight of him. His hair was sticking straight up, and his scowl just made it all the more comical. "You, my friend, need a shower. After breakfast, or Iris would kill me. I've got some spare clothes when you're ready."

Instead of responding, Bruce just sent him a glare as he got out of the bed, flattening his hair as best as he could.

"Well then, breakfast?"

"Is Dick up yet?"

"No, I haven't checked on him yet. You could do it, you know, wake him up. Kids like that right? Their dads waking them up," Barry suggested awkwardly.

"I wouldn't remember."

"Neither do I, Bruce," he said with a pained smile. "That's why we've got to keep going, right?"

"Yeah, that's right," Bruce responded as they walked through the door together.

Bruce shoved his hands in his pockets as they walked, trying to keep his straightest face. Something was bothering him. Instinct. "We can't stay very long. I have a bad feeling," he said, walking into the living room. "Dick? Wake up Dick."

* * *

I couldn't move. Luckily everything just started going kind of numb after a while. Probably sometime after the broken nose. Meg actually started crying after a bit. I had never seen her cry before. Strange. Blood was leaking from everywhere, but I wasn't sure exactly where from. I lost track after the third hour.

"I'm starting to lose interest Freaky," Joker complained. "And you really don't want to see me bored."

"Just hit one of the family, but I told you, Phantom's mine," Freakshow said.

"You don't get it, do you? I was looking through one of your old books. You know, bathroom entertainment, but I did notice one thing. Hurting the object of a ghost's obsession heightens its power…"

"But destroying that object destroys the ghost. I know, I wrote the book. But what has that got to do with this?"

"Not too smart, is he Mr. J?" Harley cut in.

"No, he isn't Harl. I'd say blaming someone for your death sounds like an obsession. A reason to cling around…"

"I see. Well, what do you want me to do about it?" Freakshow questioned.

"I want to clip the bird's wings. I know you can get him."

"Of course I can, but your Bat may stop listening to my orders if you kill all of his partners."

My mind was racing, even though it was fuzzy. Thinking straight was hard. "Dad," I coughed.

Joker's head perked up and he slipped over to stand in front of me, keeping his face in my viewing range. "What's that Casper?"

"I'll… call you… dad. You can… kill me. Just don't hurt… Robin," I begged. _Begging. More of a loser than I thought you were Blake._ Shut up. Anything for Family.

"Would you be willing to pay a bone for it?" he questioned, tapping my arm.

I took a shallow breath and pressed my head into the grass. A sob cracked up my throat and I couldn't stop shaking, but I wasn't going to let them hurt Dick or Bruce like that. "Yes."

"Ask for it, and make sure you use the magic word."

"Oh god, stop, hasn't she had enough?" Braden cried. "Christ… little sister… not fair…"

I only heard half of his words. He was mumbling mostly. I tried my best to ignore him, though. "Break my bone… please."

"Please what?"

"Please… Dad," I squeaked, clenching my eyes shut.

"That's better," he purred, stepping his fingers down my arm like some twisted game of Little Piggy. I started crying, hard. I was terrified. I really didn't want this. I didn't want it. My only solace was that I was saving my littlest brother. His hand settled on my middle finger, and I about lost my nerve. I pulled my bowstring with that finger. He knew it too, and he was playing it up, taking his time.

"Just do it. Please just do it," I pleaded, flinching violently as he flicked it back, but not far enough to break it. "Oh god, god… Ah!"

I think I registered the noise before I registered the pain. It was worse knowing it was coming, I think. Just an instant and I had been totally disarmed. I was a complete mess. A useless mess.

"That should save the birdy for… hour and a half say? That's fifteen hours for Batsy to come save the day before I have to start breaking bigger bones."

* * *

"Bruce?" Dick mumbled, getting up groggily. "Man, and I was having a great dream."

"What about?"

"Flying, isn't it always?" he said with a tired smile.

"Good to hear," Bruce responded. "Come on, Iris made breakfast."

"You've got bed head," he said, getting up.

"So do you, Richard," Bruce sighed, fussing with Dick's hair until it stopped sticking up like it belonged to a cheap anime character. "There, less ridiculous."

"Pft, ridiculous? I was thinking about styling it that way," he joked.

"Not in my lifetime. Let's go."

"Fun hater," he mumbled, walking into the kitchen with Bruce. "Awesome, pancakes!"

"Alfred's going to kill me if he finds out about this," Bruce muttered. "I'm not supposed to give him too much sugar, apparently."

"Aw, how cute. Spoken like a true dad," Iris cooed, nudging up next to him. "The butler usually handle the day to day?"

"He handles the day, I handle the night. Of course when they're not at school or staying over with friends, or running off on their own. They like doing that, running off."

"You're rambling Bats. That's my job," Barry said, nudging him before heading up to the table.

"Sorry, sorry. I just need-"

"Coffee?" Iris offered.

"Yes, that's definitely the answer," he half-sighed, half-laughed.

* * *

"Robin's fine, I'm fine. Robin's fine, I'm fine," I repeated as Joker prepared to break my third finger. The sun was starting to rise now, and most of the others had gone to sleep, waking up every once in awhile to one of the three captors getting bored and kicking me or Joker breaking a finger. Every time he managed to increase the suspense and torment. Now he was twisting the already broken fingers for a good laugh first. Dick.

At this point, I could mostly get away with not screaming, and I was dehydrated enough that I couldn't cry. It was really down to whimpering and the occasional unconscious plea for help. Normally, it was for Bruce, but sometimes it was Mom, rarely Meg when I could hear her voice. She listened to me well, though. She stayed mostly quiet. I was thankful for that. It hurt when she was afraid. This time it was Sam who decided to speak up.

"Leave her alone. There's no point to this. It's not going to make them finish things faster," she said.

"Oh contraire Wednesday, the point _is _that it's funny. That's the only point to anything. The meaning of life is laughter! And believe you me, I'm laughing."

"I know, you have been, for hours straight. Doesn't laughing get boring? What are you really trying to prove?" she badgered.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm sure Casper knows, isn't that right Casper?" he questioned, grinding his heel into the back of my head.

"I'm nothing like you Joker, and I never will be," I stated, getting his meaning. _Yes, you are._ "Shut up."

"What was that last part?" he asked, perking with intrigue.

"I… I don't know," I sighed, trying to hide my face. _Where's it coming from? Normally I don't slip up and talk to it out loud. If it's slipping out this much…_

"Tell me who you were talking to and you might fend off a finger for another hour."

"It's nothing," I argued stubbornly.

"Come on Shadow, would you rather have a few minutes of embarrassment, or have to learn how to write left-handed?" he threatened, grabbing both my pinky and ring fingers.

"For Christ's sake, I don't know," I shouted. "I hear it sometimes when I'm stressed. It's just a mental reflex."

"OoOh, voices in the head? Too many bats in your belfry? I know that feeling all too well…"

"I'm not crazy!" I argued, trying to push him off of me, but failing miserably.

"Kira, what are you talking about?" Danny asked with concern.

"I… I don't want to talk about this," I muttered. "It doesn't matter."

My fingers started moving in a direction they weren't supposed to and I cried out for him to stop. Oddly, he did. "When did it start Kira?"

"After the pit!" I cried. "Martian said he put everything back the way it's supposed to be, but something's wrong. This voice nags at me and tells me I'm shit every time I screw up. I tried talking to Martian again, but he said I shouldn't worry, some manifestations are bound to happen. Please, just don't hurt me again. Please."

"So," he said, letting go and taking a few steps away, "we are alike after all. That was the first voice I heard too."

"You're making that up. You always lie about your origin story," Braden spoke up. "That's part of your character."

"It might not be true, or it might be. I'll leave you to figure it out, Casper. Proof will probably show up in say… six months? Good luck."

"God, I'm such a freak."

* * *

Bruce stepped out of the shower relieved to not be covered in dirt and sweat. It helped him unwind his muscles, which had been in a knot for the past two days. He did a quick shave before throwing on the clothes that Barry had put out for him. They were a bit small and clung around his muscles a bit too much for his liking, but he managed. Batman may be smaller than Superman, but there was no way he was tinier than the Flash.

He rushed down the stairs, throwing on a hoodie along the way. At least that covered it up a bit. "Are you ready Dick?"

"Good to go, Bruce," he said, shooting him a thumbs up. Iris had given him some of her nephew's clothes. They were hanging pretty loosely on him, but he didn't seem to mind.

"Dang Bruce, you look good. Barry might get jealous," Iris said with a smile.

"A prefer something a bit more… concealing. It's hard to play the part of the wimpy rich guy when people can see my abs," he stated. "Thank you, for letting us stay. If there's anything you need…"

"I think some flowers for the lady may be in order once you get this whole thing sorted out. Until then, we're friends Bats, think nothing of it," Barry offered.

"Well, don't be surprised if 'some' becomes an understatement, especially if Shadowrule or Batgirl hear about it."

"Stay safe you two," Iris said.

"And tell Kira and James that Uncle Barry says hi," Barry asked.

"Will do," Bruce said, sending him a hint of a smile.

"Good luck!"

* * *

"I so wish I had a Mountain Dew right now," Braden complained.

"Don't even say the word. The last two dimensions lacked any good substitute," I muttered from the ground. "Everything tastes like 7Up."

"How are you still breathing?" Meg gasped, completely over exaggerating.

"I don't know, I forget to sometimes…"

"What's Mountain Dew?" Tucker asked.

"The nectar of the gods," Brae, Meg, and I stated in practiced unison.

"It's a pop-"

"-Soda!" I interrupted.

"It's a _pop," _Meg emphasized, "that is the taste of sugary, lemon-limey goodness."

"Pure sugar satisfaction," Braden stated.

"How can you three honestly be thinking about some stupid drink right now?" Sam questioned.

"Blasphemy!" Braden called.

"A shame to your family!" Meg added.

"A disgrace to the name Sam!" I agreed.

"Well, Dean is definitely my straight crush," Meg said.

"Sam is better," I argued.

"No homo, Castiel is the best," Brae commented.

"I'm so lost," Danny muttered.

"It would take too long to explain," Meg said.

"I missed this," I sighed. "Minus the bleeding, of course."

"We don't have Ben here to complete the quartet," Brae said.

"Ugh, he's a dick."

Raising an eyebrow, I asked, "What happened with you two?"

"He got a girlfriend after you came out. Guess he finally realized he had no chance with you," she said.

"Oh, the dreaded girlfriend…"

"What's wrong with him having a girlfriend?" Tucker asked.

"Do you remember what it was like when Danny was dating Valerie?" I asked.

"Yes," Sam and Tucker deadpanned.

"It's like that, but worse."

"As Dad would say, his woman picker's broke," Brae said.

"Most definitely broken," Mom added in. "Remember that one he brought over to Kira's birthday party last year?"

"Don't remind me," I muttered.

"That girl was a bitch," Dad complained.

"I hear too much fun over here!" Freakshow shouted, storming over.

"Control freak much?" I groaned. It earned me a kick in the back of the head, but it was worth it.

"Eh, leave her alone. At least we aren't bored now," Tucker said, settling his chin on his fist with a bored expression.

"I was rather entertained," Alfred added.

"The butler agreed, therefore your opinion is invalid," Braden said.

I started giggling so much it hurt. Freakshow roughly pulled me up by the back of my undershirt collar, but all I said was, "Not even mad. You know how annoying it is to hear about nothing but bad guys and ghosts for _months_? I'll take another beating for that."

"I never thought about it like that before," Danny muttered. "Is that why you like jumping off of buildings so much?"

"WHAT?"

"I can fly Mom. I like forgetting about life sometimes. No ghosts, no monsters, just… feeling. You get that, right Freakshow? Ghost envy, that's what Jazz's thesis paper says. I tried helping her write it. I was good at correcting her grammar, but the theory was beyond me. All you want to do is control us ghosts, right? Because your family seemed to care about them more than you? I understand. Do what you've got to do. There will be consequences for every action, but do whatever you find… therapeutic. I can take it. Maybe that's my therapy."

I think I psyched him out with that because he threw me back down and stormed off without a word. Of course, that left me with no supervision… Time to start crawling.

* * *

"There it is! But… what did Mr. Haly do to the circus?" Robin questioned, looking out the window of the batwing.

The usually bright and chipper red big top was a widow's black, everyone there was dressed in black, and there seemed to be fire burning everywhere, but nobody seemed to care.

"Suit up. This seems too wrong to be safe."

"Agreed."

Five minutes later, their plane was touching down just outside of the camp. Robin threw on a cloak over his uniform, covering him in enough black to blend in with the crowd. Then they slipped in.

Nobody seemed to find the two dark figures out of place. No one even turned a second glance at Batman. As a matter of fact, the patrons seemed to just move in blind wandering.

"This is creepy," Robin whispered, shooting Batman a concerned look.

"Stay focused. This has to be the effect of the last gem."

* * *

They left my gear pretty close, and not well guarded. Guess they didn't expect me to get up, or for any of us to escape. Too bad for them that letting me simmer for too long was a horrible idea, especially after Joker started threatening Meg after his last visit. Nobody messes with Meg.

The familiar metal of my belt was in my hands. I couldn't use my bow at this point. Every necessary digit for using it had been completely wrecked. Good thing I could throw batarangs with both hands. Mostly. And my wrist ray could work without my fingers.

Bye bye, Lydia.

A bat by trade, I grabbed my cloak and mask. Shadowrule did not run around naked.

I took a deep breath to compose myself. I didn't stand a chance, but… _I can do this._

Pushing myself to my furthest extent, I climbed up to the top of one of the train cars and waited.

* * *

"Where do you think the gem would be, Robin?"

"Um… how about we ask?"

"That's a terrible idea."

"Doesn't hurt to ask for directions. Hey! Has anyone seen an odd ghostly gem laying around?" Robin shouted, making the darkly clad wanderers spin and face him.

A low hiss rose up from the crowd, and their eyes turned black.

"Uh-oh."

"Uh-oh is an understatement," Bats growled, shooting Robin a glare. Sharp teeth were starting to grow out of the hostiles' mouths. "Not vampires again."

"Again? Woah!" Robin cried as Bruce pulled him away from a set of teeth.

"We can't hit them, they're civilians, and we can't get hit by them. I'd give anything that that gem is under the big top. We have to get in there."

"I know a way. There's a vent at the top."

"Good, then let's go."

* * *

"Where is she? You were supposed to be keeping watch _Freakshow_! You can't let a Bat wander off. They'll always wreck your fun!" Joker shouted.

"How was I supposed to know that? The last time I saw her she couldn't even stand on her own feet!"

"Looks like you were mistaken. When I get my hands on her, she'll be lucky to ever walk again!"

"Hate to break up the lover's quarrel, but I'm ready to get some payback now," I said, standing up from my perch. _A bit too fast, ouch._

"Do you honestly believe you can fight the three of us _and _Lydia? I doubt you could even fight us on your best of days, but with no powers and one handed?" Freakshow mocked.

"I believe the quote is 'We may stumble and fall but shall rise again; it should be enough if we do not run away from the battle'," I said, readying a batarang in my left hand. "Besides, I am f***ing sick of your ability to breathe you green-haired bastard. It's about time to remedy that."

"God she's sexy when she's pissed."

"Meg!"

A smirk curled on the edge of my lips. _I can do this. Distract, acid cap the car locks, get Danny's help, beat bad guys._ Simple. Right?

Keeping the high ground, I quickly threw six batarangs down at the trio. Four hit, two missed. Of course, it was poor Harley that got hit twice. I was hoping it was one of the boys. Thinking fast while they were thrown off guard, I raised my wrist ray and got a few shots on Lydia. Seizing the moment, I swung down to the door of the cage Danny, Al, and Meg were in and smashed an acid capsule on the lock.

"Have a present," I said, throwing Danny's belt down by the door before running at the clowns, twirling Danny's collapsible bo staff. It was his favourite, but I couldn't throw punches either.

"My birthday is still a couple months off, but I'll take it," he said, throwing on the belt and pulling out a small ectogun to hold off Lydia.

Joker stood up, the typical smile turned upside down in a terrifying growl. "That's it, no more funny business. Time to die Bat-brat!"

"Great, I'm done joking!" I shouted, swinging my staff his way. He jumped back just enough to avoid my hit and I was on him. Swing, swing, jump, downswing.

"Hold still!" he shouted.

"Over my molecularly decaying ectoplasm!" I yelled back, hitting him with a leg sweep before moving on to Harley.

"Danny Phantom, the ever powerful half-ghost boy. Not so powerful, not a rarity anymore. Just another _freak _in the show."

"I'm not a freak, and I'm still more powerful than you!" Danny stated, punching the weak circus master in the face.

"_LYDIA!_" he shouted. The ghost flew over and pulled down her hood, giving him an indescribable expression. "What? They have?"

* * *

"Robin, over there, on the ringmaster's hat," Batman pointed out.

"That's Mr. Haly! Given a dark, vampire Mr. Haly, but it's him. We've got to help him."

"I'll lower you down on a line. Take it from his hat. Don't let anyone bite you. That's the last thing I need right now," he said.

"Alright, let's do this," Dick stated, latching the line to his belt.

"Be careful. There's nothing sturdy enough to grapple up to if you get into trouble. Whatever you do, don't unlatch," Bruce ordered.

With a nod, Bruce started lowering him down. It was a struggle with his bad shoulder, but he wouldn't let Dick down, figuratively speaking. Robin wrapped his cloak around himself, blending into the darkness. He became darkness, something Bruce taught him well. When he was just over Haly's head, he inverted himself and reached out an arm. "Got it!" he shouted, snagging the stone as Mr. Haly let out a hiss. After throwing it into the thermos in his belt, a light started leaking out around him, consuming everything in its path. As it passed, things started to radiate colour, vibrant and true to a circus.

"I'm going to lower you down, Robin," Bats shouted, slowly sending him down to the floor.

Robin touched down on solid ground and unclipped himself from the line. "Mr. Haly, are you okay?"

"Robin? John and Mary's Robin? Oh, when we heard of a little bird running around Gotham, we knew it had to be you," the older man said, throwing an arm around the Boy Wonder's shoulders.

"Yeah, I stopped Tony Zucco, then I started working with Batman," Robin explained happily.

Bruce tied the line to the one spike holding the big top up and started sliding down as Mr. Haly said, "It's good to see you again my boy, even after that unfortunate talk we've been hearing on the radio lately. You are staying safe, aren't you?"

"As safe as I can be. You know I always perform without a net," Dick said.

"Actually," Bruce said, dropping down next to him and offering a hand to Mr. Haly, "I'm his net. Bruce Wayne."

"Jack Haly. Thank you for keeping our bird flying."

"Of course. Once we get through this mess, I'm sure we will work out some time for Dick to come see his…"

"They're family Bruce," Dick said with a smile.

"To come see his family then. I'd love to stay around and get to know you better, but we have to get across the country to save the rest of our family," he finished.

"That's quite alright. I'll see you again… What on earth is that?"

"What-" Dick questioned, turning around. "Bruce!"

A wave of flying green tattoo ghosts were encircling Bruce Wayne and Richard Grayson. Both boys let out startled shouts as the creatures cut off their view of the outside world. When the creatures vanished, so did they.

* * *

"Go on then, bring them here!" Freakshow shouted.

"Here comes the cavalry," I muttered, elbowing Harley in the face. "D, stand down, keep them away from-"

"These guys?"

My head turned to see Joker had Alfred under one arm and Meg under the other, with knives held against both of their throats. "KB, help!" Meg shouted, trying to squirm out of his grip.

"Hey, it's okay babe, calm down," I assured her. "Joker, if you hurt her, I'll just get stronger. You know that."

"But if I kill all of them, you add to the city's air pollution," he threatened.

I smirked. "You're not playing with a full deck J. Jack, Maddie, Jazz, Danielle, Ben, Kris, Barry, Oliver, Dick, Bruce, Danny, Eleven names, probably more. Eleven people you can't kill keeping me alive. Even if you kill everyone else here, all you're going to do is piss. Me. Off. Now, why don't you takes your God damn knives off of my girlfriend and surrogate grandfather's throats."

"Hm, you do think in black and white, don't you? Logic, what good does that do? Throw it out the window, that's what I say. Besides, it's not as though you could actually do anything with that anger. Girlfriend's dead, your heart's broken, boo hoo, but you still have to follow dear old Dad's one rule," he taunted.

"Hate to tell you this nutjob, but Bruce isn't my daddy. My dad taught me an eye for an eye, and a kill is worth doing if it saves the family. Right, Daddy?" I said with an overdramatic smile, glancing over to my father.

"And always point the blade away from yourself," he responded.

"See? You're being stupid Joker. And nothing will be funny when you're dead at my feet. Now put them down," I ordered.

"Alfred!" a very Bruce voice shouted. Not Batman. Definitely Bruce. Scared, concerned, and angry all mixed into one.

"Stay back, Batman, or the butler gets it!" Freakshow ordered. "Hand over the gems, or my associate will have no issue killing your loved ones."

He looked about ready to say something, but I cut him off. "Bruce, he's serious. No matter what we threaten, they won't give a shit. Alfred and Meg will die, and we'll be no better off than we started. Give him the gems and they'll give us a fighting chance."

"What chance is there if he can control all of reality?"

"Trust me, please. Have I ever given you a reason not to?"

He sent me an analyzing glance before ordering, "Robin, Phantom, stand down. Robin, hand Freakshow your gem."

Joker let out a laugh and I subconsciously took a step closer to Bruce. Noticing, he took one step ahead of me, asking, "What did he do to you?"

"Anything and everything. I'll be fine," I whispered back, straightening up my stance.

"So good of you to come to your senses Batsy," Joker said, throwing down Meg but keeping hold of Alfred. I quickly grabbed her and pulled her away from him as he added, "Just give yours up Brucie and I'll let Grandpa Bats go."

I hugged Meg close to me, knowing that in a few seconds, she'd be out of my grasp again. "The rollercoaster. Ghost envy. Trick him into changing. Force him in the thermos," she whispered. My memory flashed, and I nodded, understanding her meaning.

"Can I just say it? Please? If I don't, we might die without ever hearing it," I whispered.

"No, because you're not allowed to die," she said. "Save it for a day when it really counts."

"Fine, you're the first person who ever gave two shits about me, the whole me, and if something happens today, you're always the first person I think of when I think of family."

"Ditto," she muttered, taking a step away from me as Bruce handed Freakshow the last two gems he needed. After they were in his gauntlet, he started punching in the combination.

"Finally, ringmaster of all reality! Now, to make everything in the perfect image, _mine!_" he shouted, lifting his hand as a ghostly light started covering the sky, and eventually, I guessed, the world. The sky was darker, purple in colour. The moon earned a freakish face. My eyes lit up. The object of my obsession was in danger and my powers were finally acting accordingly. "Now, onto the final act. I just need to bring out the guests of honour," Freakshow said, pointing his hand towards the ground. In a second flash of light, Jack, Maddie, and Jazz were teleported in.

"Mom, Dad!" Danny shouted.

"Onto the death-defying escape attempt of the century," he finished, waving his hand and creating a roller coaster out of nothing. Meg, Mom, Dad, and Braden were teleported into the back car, Jack, Maddie, Jazz, and Alfred in the middle, and Sam and Tucker up front.

My powers flared, and I noticed Danny's were doing the same. Sharing a nod, we shouted, "Going Ghost!" I could have sworn I heard a theme song. The rings split out across both of our waists, rising to leave behind our transformations, and Danny gave me an odd look.

"What?" I questioned, looking down to see a jumpsuit. "Damnit! I'll protect the family, you take Freakshow."

"On it!" he agreed.

"We'll keep Joker and Quinn off your backs," Bats said, running at the Clown Prince himself.

"Sweet," I muttered, flying towards the coaster. "Keep your coms up. We'll need them."

"_Yes ma'am," _Dick called over.

"_Always," _Danny said.

"_Any ideas how to stop this guy?" _Bruce asked.

"Ghost envy," I answered, grabbing the back car and trying to pull it back with all my strength. Jumping in front turns you to goo. That I remembered. "He's jealous of the power we have. Use psychology."

"_I can do this,"_ Danny said, going to work.

Seeing two giant hammers smashing together up ahead, I flew ahead of the coaster cars. When they were about to smash down, I wedged an ectostaff between the two sides and extended it, holding them apart until they were safely on the other side.

Taking a gasp of breath, I kept chasing, my legs turning to a tail, much to my annoyance. I didn't have much time to focus on it though, because the next task was just ahead.

Freakshow swatted Danny away for long enough to notice Bruce and Dick doing their jobs, with the clowns losing rather badly. "Hm, how about an upgrade?" he said, pointing his glove at the pair. Power rushed towards them, and in an instant, Joker was the size of Bane and Harley's hammer looked a lot bigger and a lot more dangerous. Bruce let out a surprised shout as Joker picked him up by the cape. Thinking fast, he tore off his mask and retreated for a bit of distance. Robin started using his bo staff and acrobatic abilities to face Harley rather than the quick hand on hand maneuvers he was using.

"Hey Freakshow, still think you're cooler than a ghost?" Danny questioned, ducking away from one of Freakshow's hits.

"Please, boy, I control all of reality! This is my freakdom fit for a king! I can do anything, why wouldn't I be cooler than a simple, stupid, ghost. _Haha!_" he answered clutching a hand around Danny's body.

"Well for one, can you do… this?" Danny questioned, turning invisible and phasing out of his grasp.

"Show yourself like a normal person!"

"But I'm not a normy like you. I'm awesome," he said, showing his face. "Look, ghost. Ghost. Ghost!" He punctuated each word with an ectoblast to Freakshow's hat.

"Urg…"

"Shit, fire!" I shouted, flying in front of a jack in the box and raising a shield. It kept flickering between blue and green, but I knew it would have to be green to withstand the blast. I kept pushing, but the energy running through my hands was getting disrupted by my injuries. "Danny, help!" I cried, getting it just green enough to save the first car as it started going by.

"Kira!" he shouted, distracted enough that Freakshow got a hit in.

"_Use your cloak,"_ Bruce ordered.

With a nod, I phased my cloak into my ghost form and spread it out, trying to take the hit for them, but the force was so strong…

* * *

Bruce was struggling with Joker. He didn't have his exoskeleton, and the playing field was definitely not even. "You know, it was fun beating up that freaky kid of yours. She didn't stand a ghost of a chance after all, and guess who wasn't there to help…"

"I won't play your mind games, Joker," Bruce said, dodging away from a fist. "Those kids can handle themselves just fine."

"Kind of like you did in Crime Alley?"

Bruce was thrown off guard just enough to miss a dodge and ended up on his back. His eyes widened as he caught a glimpse of the coaster. "Oh no, she can't hold it," he muttered. Time seemed to slow as he shoved himself to his feet and started to sprint. He didn't know what to do, but he had to do something.

"Hold on Batsy, I'm not through with you yet," Joker said, grabbing his arm and lifting him off of the ground.

"No… Kira, hold on, you can do this!" Bruce knew what was coming, he'd seen it too many times before. It was his job to stop it, his promise, but he couldn't do anything. He watched her strength give out as she slammed into the last coaster car, knocking it off the track and lighting it on fire along the way.

"Do the good guys still always win?" Joker asked, breaking out into a fit of laughter. "Let's go check up on the little tyke."

The giant beast that was Joker pulled Batman tight against his chest, crushing his ribs. A moan of pain escaped his lips as they started moving towards the crashed car and teenager.

"No, no, no. -can't be-Mom-Meg? Please wake up. Please…"

Bruce's chest clenched at that. He'd failed one of his kids. "No use crying over spilled guts kiddo!" Shadow visibly shrank at the sound of Joker's laughter, but the outburst caused him to drop Bats.

He rushed to her side just as two of the crash victim's eyes started opening. "Dad, Meg! Please, stay awake," she pleaded, pulling the two closer to her.

"Baby girl," the man rasped, looking up to her tear stained face. Bruce could tell there and then there was no way he was going to survive. His father had had that same weak look the moment before he passed. "I need to tell you something."

"Please don't die, Dad," she cried.

"Can't help that. But I can fix this. I'm sorry, for everything. And I'm proud of… the woman you've become. So happy you found… someone like Bruce to… to…"

"Dad? Dad!"

"It's okay Shadow," the injured girl breathed. "Life is life. Don't be scared."

"I'm not scared Meg, I'm just not ready to lose you yet," Shadow cried, pulling the girl up to her chest.

"Hey, death… isn't the end, and it's… not permanent. Can still save…"

"No, no, no, Meg, please. Please keep talking."

"Wake me up at dawn. I want to watch… the sunrise," she finished with a smile, letting her eyes slip shut. There was no fear in that girl, something Bruce didn't understand. Not permanent? How was death not permanent? That was _the_ permanent, right? Of course, she could have just been trying to keep Kira calm.

"Meg, please wake up. I love you, Meg. I do. Screw the rules, I love you, wake up," she begged.

Doing the only thing he could think to do, Bruce put an arm around the crying girl's shoulder. What could he say? What could he _honestly _say?

"You going to keep on crying, little hero?" Joker mocked.

"Shut up," she mumbled, clenching her fists. Bruce could tell something was going to happen.

"Who are you really going to cry to now? Not Mommy and Daddy-"

"SHUT THE HELL UP YOU BASTARD!" she screamed, jumping to her feet, eyes blazing with fire.

"Kira, wait!" Bruce shouted, trying to stop her.

"_You wait,"_ she said, her voice taking on a distorted, almost demonic tone. "_No more games."_ A blood red ectoblast shot from her hand, hitting monster Joker with enough force to knock him down and burn his chest, then her eyes set on Freakshow.

"Shadow, stop, you don't have to do this!" Bruce half ordered, half requested.

She looked like she didn't hear him as fire spread across her body, leaving her as a pitch black silhouette surrounded by fire. She didn't respond to anything he said or shouted. She was gone.

He had to back away because she was getting so hot, and she started lifting up in the air. She shot off in a flash, right at Freakshow's chest. "Looks like Match Stick is about to break your rule Bats," Joker coughed.

"She isn't in control. I've never seen this before," Bruce muttered, not paying too much attention to the clown as he sprinted after his eldest ward. Then the next shock. He watched as she shot right through Freakshow's chest. No intangibility. A shot through the heart. Danny let out a shout of surprise as the Shadow landed on her fist and a knee. As Freakshow shrunk and fell over, she stood, walking towards him as the fire around her started to dissipate. As nothing more than a blank entity, she grabbed the gauntlet from the ringmaster's lifeless body. After it was on her hand, she started to regain her colour. A confused look crossed her face as she fell to her knees, and Bruce and Danny rushed to her side.

"What… What happened? Did I do this?" she questioned, looking at the blood on her suit with wide eyes.

"Shadow…" Bruce started, not knowing what more to say.

"I don't think it was really you Kira, but you need to do something before that coaster goes off the rails," Danny said, trying to stay calm.

"Um, right," she mumbled, shaking her head and pointing a hand towards the coaster. In an instant, the deadly drop at the end was replaced with a end station run by a skeleton, who stopped the cars and helped Danny's family and Alfred off of the coaster.

"What did that girl mean by death isn't permanent, Shadow?" Bruce asked, trying to keep her talking.

"Meg! Of course! It's not too late, the gem of life," she said, getting ready to run.

"Wait," Bruce said, putting a hand on her shoulders. "Freakshow first."

She looked confused, but upon looking down at the body and shuddering, she nodded. "I shouldn't make myself a killer," she said, pointing the glove at the man. A flash of light flew down at him, and the hole in his chest started closing. After a moment, he took a gasp of breath and shot up. Acting fast, Bruce hit him in the head hard enough to put him down for a while.

Then the group of three ran towards the crash site. Acting fast, Kira shot a beam at Joker, shrinking him down to his usually lanky size.

"I've never seen someone die before," the redheaded teenager gasped.

"As far as I'm concerned, you still haven't," Kira stated, glaring intensely at the bodies. Light shot towards them. "Come on, come on," she muttered.

After what felt like forever, the light in her eyes started dimming as fear started setting in. Bruce saw this, and he put a hand on her back saying, "Just keep going. You can do this, I know you can."

Her eyes focused again at the encouragement, and she wiped the tears off her face with her free arm. That's when they heard it: a cough, a gasp, choking, and a short scream. The light stopped to show the four getting to their feet. A smile lit up on Kira's face, wide enough to make it spread to everyone around her. Even Bruce smirked a bit as she wrapped a crushing hug around the two teenagers of the group.

"You're alive. You're actually alive," she muttered, muffled by her sibling's shoulder.

"KB, you beautiful idiot, heal your hand before you hurt yourself," Meg said, pushing her away for a moment.

"Right," Shadow said, giving Meg a quick peck on the cheek before holding up the gauntlet. "Why don't I show you my full self in my natural habitat?"

A golden glow radiated out from the glove, starting at Shadow, it left her in her full suit, clean, pristine, and uninjured. She radiated strength, and the dye and foundation was back in place, making her appear totally normal. The light then spread on to her family, getting rid of the blood and rips in their clothing. The scent of strawberries was quite strong. Then Bruce was hit, repairing his suit and refilling his belt. He couldn't even feel the pain in his shoulder anymore. The same happened to Robin, and then Danny. Then the train and the roller coaster and all of Freakshow's props disappeared. The sky above Gotham was free of smog for the first time in fifty years, giving the perfect view of the sunrise. Bruce could only assume that the same thing was happening all over the world.

* * *

"Am I still the most beautiful girl you've ever laid eyes on?" I asked, taking hold of Meg's hands.

"Well, Batgirl is pretty hot…"

"Meg!"

"Just kidding, you know gingers have no souls. You could be blue and yellow and I'd still like you best," she said with a light-hearted smile.

"Well, I'm fairly certain Gotham is wondering why it smells like strawberries," I said with a grin.

"Kira honey?"

I looked up to see a very nervous looking Mom and Dad. My eyes narrowed, not in anger, but thought. "Ma?"

"Listen honey, we just want you to know-"

"Mom, I know," I interrupted. "Every night I ask myself why I was so angry, why I said the things I did. You guys were just as scared and confused as I was, and while that doesn't justify the things you did, I get it. It's safer to be normal, but I'll never be normal now. If you can't accept that, I get it. I have another family, just say the word and I'm-"

"Shut up baby girl," Dad said, dumbfounding me with a hug. "I was stupid. If being weird or different or freaky is what makes you happy, I won't ever try to stop you again."

"My daughter is a superhero, how could I ever wish for more," Mom said, joining the hug. "But you better damn well be taking care of yourself."

"She's got to be. Do you see how tall you've gotten?" Dad commented.

"Tall? I haven't grown Dad," I said with a laugh.

"You might want to hold off on that statement Shadow, I think you've gotten a bit taller in the last three days," Danny said, holding his bo staff up next to me. I looked at it and realized it only came up to my chin, where yesterday it would have been to my lips.

I shot a fist up in the air and yelled, "Yes! The perpetual shortness is gone!"

"No fair, I enjoyed my height advantage," Braden muttered.

"We're so proud of you two," Maddie said, walking over and giving Danny and I a motherly hug.

"Who's this Kira?" Mom asked.

"Oh, right, introductions. Guys, this is my mom and dad, Katherine and Luke Blake, my bro, Braden, and my girlfriend Maria "Meg" Grant. Call her Meg or she will cut you," I said.

"Well, I'm Danny Fenton, this is my mom and dad, Maddie and Jack Fenton, my sister Jazz, and my friends Sam Manson and Tucker Foley."

"And I'm Bruce Wayne," B said, pulling down his hood, "and this is my ward Dick Grayson, and our butler Alfred Pennyworth."

"Am I the only one freaking out because my sister literally lives with _Batman?_" Braden questioned, waving his arms at Bruce.

"Well, the rest of us have been internalizing it fanboy," Meg said, rolling her eyes.

"How's Danielle been doing?" Danny asked, turning to his parents.

"That girl is _amazing_!" Jack shouted ecstatically. "We've learned so much about ghosts since she moved in. Why didn't you tell us earlier that you were part ghost?"

"Let's see," Danny started, giving Sam, Tucker, Jazz, and I a look.

"When I get my hands on that ghost I'm going to rip it apart molecule by molecule," we all chimed in unison.

"Hm, I guess I'd be pretty scared too," the man said with a smile, crushing the two of us with one of his bear hugs.

After I was released, I looked over to see Braden literally hugging Bruce's arm. "Braden Michael Blake, quit creeping on Bruce," I scolded.

"He's real! I knew it! I so called this!"

"You're so embarrassing," I muttered, pulling him off of Bruce by the ear. Alfred couldn't quit smirking.

"So this is my little girl's family?" Dad asked, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah, all my three brothers, three dads, two moms, extra grandpa, and only sister," I said with a light smile. "To bad it's going to have to be broken up again."

"What do you mean?" Mom asked.

"Mrs. Blake, we're going to have to go home," Meg said.

"But you're coming with us, aren't you Kira?"

The smile on my face flattened to a line. "About that…"

"You can't just disappear again. We've been searching for you for months," Dad stated.

"I know, but I'm not ready yet. I've made a family here, and I haven't mastered my powers yet, if today is any proof to that. I can't even sleep in a regular bed without setting it on fire," I said.

"We can make it work," Braden said, taking my arm with a look of concern.

"Not without giving up my powers, and if I gave that up, I'd have to give up my memories too. I can't even imagine life without flying, life without Danny, life without being Shadowrule. Right now, I need to be a nomad. I'm growing up guys, and this is how."

"I understand KB," Meg said, hugging my chest. "Promise me you'll come back sometime though. Even if you have to lie."

"How about I make it an unbreakable vow so to speak?" I said, running my bare hand through her hair.

"What?"

"I'm wearing the reality gauntlet Meg, I can do anything," I said. "What if I promised that I could be home before I'm eighteen? And when I get back, we'll be able to go to any world together?"

"That would make my dreams come true. How about this, you ask me to marry you in space?"

"That's the easiest thing you've asked for so far," I said, putting my forehead against hers.

"Hand me the gauntlet after you've done your reality changing. I've got to make up for missing your sweet sixteen."

Giving her a confused look, I backed off and focused my energy, picturing my promise. I could feel something, almost like a door unlocking, then I felt like everything was going to be good.

"It's done," I said, handing her the gauntlet.

She smiled as she put it on and pointed it towards her free hand. In a flash of light, a present wrapped in Batman paper came into existence. "Happy very late birthday," she said, handing me back both the glove and package.

Raising an eyebrow, I slowly pulled open the package to reveal a small and long box. I opened that to reveal a black choker with a teardrop pendant in the middle. That teardrop was made up of a warped S.

"Try it on. It's special," she urged.

Shrugging, I latched it around my neck.

"Wipe off that makeup now," she said with a smile.

I did as she said and she pulled her phone out of her pocket, turned on the front facing camera, and held it in front of my face. "Oh my god," I gasped. I looked totally and utterly _normal_.

"It'll let you change your look to whatever you want. While I'm fine with whatever you look like, I know how you get. Now you can be as beautiful as you want to be. And you can change the charm, that way Kira Blake won't get branded with Shadowrule's S."

"Thank you so much," I said, morphing myself to have black hair and blue eyes like the boys.

"And hold on to the gem of fantasy when you destroy the gauntlet. If you focus it, I bet you could use it to send messages home," she said.

"Good to know. Danny, if you want to go home, now's the time to say so," I said, turning to my ghostly brother.

"I won't leave you alone Kira, you need me and you know it," he said with a smile.

"You're right, but I'd be terrible if I didn't offer," I said.

"Remember Danny-boy, send me and your mother reports on any new ghosts you find, and don't forget your old man while you're off saving the world," Jack said.

"The great thing about having scientist parents: saving the multiverse, totally valid excuse to break curfew," Danny said with a smile, giving his mom and dad a hug. "And I'm going to miss you guys too," he said, getting Sam, Jazz, and Tucker too.

"We got that at the last goodbye," Sam said with a sad smile.

"As much as I accept your decisions, you can't just strike out on your own. You're sixteen!" Mom argued.

"I'm not on my own Ma, and this will be like a dream for you anyway," I said, waving the gauntlet in front of Mom and Dad's faces. They looked disoriented before being transported home.

"Why did you do that?" Meg questioned.

"They'd get thrown in the loony bin if they ran around talking about their dimension-traveling daughter. And I'll save you two one headache," I said, my eyes drooping.

"What headache?" she asked in fear.

"The memory of death, Meg. The living don't need that," I answered, waving my hand again, sending her and Braden off minus one memory. They could remember me being a hero, being in Gotham, but that was too much. If I was more selfish, I would have pushed it from mine too, but I knew the failure would stop me from failing them again. "Are you guys ready?"

"It's our time," Maddie said with a nod.

"Thanks for protecting Danny, and I'm sorry I wasn't nicer in our universe," Sam said.

"It's alright Sam, and I'll keep watch on him. Goodbye guys!"

The group shared their goodbyes, and I sent them off to their homes.

"Everyone's in their place. Now all there is is to wipe us from the record on this incident," Bruce said, putting a hand on Danny and my shoulders.

"Don't forget to send the Guys in White and Freakshow back," Danny said.

"Of course," I said, raising the gauntlet one last time. A wave was sent across the planet, changing news titles, altering video footage, changing memories, and shrouding the Bat once again.

"Alright, take out the blue one and I'll fry it," Danny said, holding out his hand.

"Do you really think it will work?" I asked shyly.

"Hey, your girlfriend's the ultimate fangirl right? If she thinks it will work, I bet it will," he said.

"Thanks Danny," I said, slipping the gem into my belt before handing the gauntlet to him.

"Now watch the fireworks," he said, throwing the thing up into the air. In a flash of green, it was destroyed, never to cause us trouble again.

"Shadow, we need to have a talk," Bruce said, pulling up his cowl.

"I figured so. Can't we pick this up tomorrow though? I'm tired," I asked, feeling the adrenaline wear off.

"Alright, tomorrow. I'll clean up this mess from here. You four head in," he ordered.

"Thanks Bats," I said, taking Alfred's arm. _For helping me save my family. For believing in me even after I broke your rule. For being there._ All of that in two words, and I knew he understood. Then we were off, flying home.


End file.
